*^ 


CLAUDIUS, 

The  Cowboy  of   Ramapo  Valley, 


A   Story  of   Revolutionary  Times  in 
Southern  New  York. 


IR. 


MIDDLETOWN,  N.  Y.  : 

S  BAUSON  &  Bo  YD,  PRESS  STEAM  PRINT. 

1894. 


Entered  according  to  Act  of  Congress,  in  the  year  one  thousand  eight  hun- 
dred and  ninety-four, 
BY  P.  DEMAREST  JOHNSON, 
In  the  office  of  the  Librarian  of  Congress,  at  Washington. 


TO 

(5EO?(5E  W.  SUFFER, 

MY    LONG  TIME   FRIEND    AND   A   DESCENDANT  OF  ONE  OF    THE 
STAUNCHEST    PATRIOTS    OF   THE    TIME    THAT  TRIED   MEN'S 
SOULS,    AND    IN   REMEMBRANCE    OF    THE  MANY  HAPPY 
HOURS     WE    HAVE    PASSED     TOGETHER     IN    RAMB- 
LING   AMONG  THE    RUGGED    MOUNTAINS    AND 
THROUGH     THE      HISTORIC     VALLEYS     OP 
OUR     BIRTH     PLACE, 

THIS  LITTLE  BOOK  IS  DEDICATED, 

WITH  THE  HOPE  THAT  MANY  MORE  OF  THOSE  PLEASANT  HOURS 
MAY  INTERVENE  BEFORE  OUR  PATHS  SHALL  SEPARATE. 

THE  AUTHOR. 


PREFACE. 


The  part  of  the  country  where  the  scenes  of  this  story  are 
mainly  laid  is  certainly  one  of  the  most  romantic  and  beautiful 
in  the  land.  Between  what  has  always  been  designated  as  The 
Point  of  the  Mountain  and  the  Highlands  of  the  Hudson  near 
the  present  village  of  Nyack,  lie  the  rolling  lands  comprising 
the  county  of  Rockland.  For  splendid  and  romantic  scenery 
it  will  compare  favorably  with  any  county  in  the  State.  Not 
many  New  Yorkers  know  what  a  little  Switzerland  there  is  so 
near  the  great  city  or  what  rugged  mountains  and  pleasant  val- 
leys are  to  be  found  almost  at  their  doors  and  how  little  need 
there  is,  to  travel  to  the  distant  Adirondacks,  to  find  sparkling 
streams,  limpid  lakes,  and  the  other  handiwork  of  nature  which 
makes  that  region  so  attractive  to  the  seeker  of  pleasure. 

But  not  only  for  these  things  is  this  portion  of  the  State  re- 
markable. Among  its  rugged  peaks  and  gently  rolling  hills  may 
be  found  relics  of  the  time  that  tried  men's  souls  ;  and  many  a 
place  can  be  pointed  out  to  the  wayfarer,  which  has  been  hal- 
lowed and  made  sacred  by  the  presence  of*  the  great  hero  of 
human  freedom  and  the  men  who  followed  him  in  that  long,  and 
finally  victorious  struggle. 

To  the  patriotic  citizen,  and  one  who  loves  to  ramble  among 
such  scenes,  many  days  of  pleasure,  and  profit  too,  await  him, 
if  he  will  put  himself  into  the  hands  of  some  old  pioneer 
acquainted  with  this  stretch  of  country  and  be  shown  where,  in 


the  dark  days  of  the  revolution,  those  men  of  iron  stood  on 
guard  amid  the  rocks  and  ravines  of  historic  Ramapo  Pass. 

As  to  the  characters  in  this  little  story  :  many  of  them  were 
the  true  actors  in  the  drama  then  being  enacted  and  were  living 
men  and  women  of  the  time.  Claudius  is  so  much  a  true  char- 
acter, that  still,  among  the  oldest  inhabitants  of  that  district,  he 
is  known  as  the  Scourge  of  the  Highlands  and  the  tradition  of 
his  desperate  and  cruel  deeds  ha*  been  handed  down  from  father 
to  son  ;  and  in  the  literature  of  the  two  counties  of  Orange  and 
Rockland.  he  has  a  prominent  place. 

Rem.  Onderdonk  too,  was  more  of  a  hero  than  he  is  pic- 
tured here,  and  was  really  a  daring  and  impetuous  scout  through- 
out the  whole  conflict ;  and  his  memory  is  still  fresh  and  green 
among  the  descendants  of  that  family  which  has  always  occu- 
pied a  prominent  position  in  that  part  of  the  State. 

Many  of  the  incidents  here  related  are  also  matters  of  fact 
and  well  known  among  the  old  families  whose  forefathers  were 
the  first  settlers  and  pioneers  of  the  old  county  of  Orange  ;  and 
thus  may  be  seen  that  the  whole  story,  though  colored  somewhat 
by  the  imagination  of  the  author,  has  a  basis  of  fact  and  truth, 
and  in  many  instances,  does  not  exaggerate  what  transpired  there 
when  the  yeoman  of  Orange  helped  strike  the  blow  for  liberty 
whose  reverberations  were  heard  around  the  world. 

THE  AUTHOR. 


CLAUDIUS, 

THE  COWBOY  OF  RAMAPO  VALLEY. 


CHAPTER  I. 

"For  my  own  part  I  do  not  believe  the  King 
and  Parliament  have  the  right  to  tax  tea,  or,  for 
that  matter,  any  other  commodity  imported  by  us  ; 
and  if  this  business  is  persisted  in  it  will  lead  to 
bloodshed  and  it  may  be  revolution  outright.  The 
times  are  wild  and  unsettled  and  I  shall  prepare 
myself  for  the  worst  and  be  ready  to  act  my  part 
in  what  may  prove  to  be  a  bloody  drama." 

"I  do  not  agree  with  you,  Barent.  I  believe 
the  government  has  the  right  to  tax  its  subjects 
for  the  good  of  the  nation,  and  though  I  think  it 
will  never  come  to  such  a  serious  pass  as  you 
imagine,  if  it  should,  I  give  you  my  word  that  I 
shall  always  be  found  upon  the  side  of  my  King 
righting  against  the  traitorous  faction  which  has 


8  CLAUDIUS, 

for  years  already  spoken  lightly  of  his  authority 
and  been  breeding  contempt  for  the  laws  of  the 
land." 

This  was  part  of  a  conversation  which  occurred 
between  two  young  men  who  had  accidently  met, 
while  hunting  near  the  base  of  the  mountain 
range  which  constitutes  the  western  border  of 
what  is  now  the  county  of  Rockland  in  the  Em- 
pire State  of  New  York.  The  time  was  the 
autumn  of  1774,  just  after  the  meeting  in  Philadel- 
phia of  the  first  General  Congress  and  the  year  after 
the  destruction  of  the  tea  in  Boston  harbor.  The 
one  addressed  as  Barent  was  a  young  man  of 
about  twenty-two  years,  a  representative  of  one  of 
the  leading  families  of  that  part  of  the  country, 
(the  Van  Houtens).  The  other  one  was  a  youth 
of  probably  twenty,  who  answered  to  the  name  of 
Claudius  Smith.  He  was  born  among  the  moun- 
tains that  gird  the  valley  of  the  Ramapo  and  from 
boyhood  had  been  a  wild  and  wayward  lad.  His 
family  owned  a  large  track  of  mountain  land, 
which  in  the  eyes  of  the  surrounding  neighbors 
raised  it  above  the  common  herd. 

The  young  men,  after  some    further  conversa- 


THE   COWBOY   OF   RAMAPO   VALLEY.  9 

tion  of  a    desultory   nature,   parted  and   took  the 
mountainous  path   to  their  respective  homes. 

Barent  Van  Houten,  as  his  name  indicates,  was 
a  descendant  of  the  early  Dutch  settlers  of  what 
was  then  the  County  of  Orange  in  the  Province 
of  New  York.  His  education  was  the  best  the 
country  afforded  at  the  time,  and  it  was  only 
within  the  last  year  that  he  had  returned  from  the 
city  of  New  York,  after  graduating  from  one  of 
its  best  schools,  and  now,  like  many  more  of  the 
prominent  young  men  of  the  Province,  felt  seri- 
ously interested  in  the  troubles  which  had  been 
brewing  for  several  years  between  Great  Britain 
and  her  American  Colonies.  As  is  well  known, 
the  descendants  of  the  Dutch  settlers  in  this  part 
of  the  Province  of  New  York,  were  in  the  main 
found  upon  the  patriotic  side  during  the  Revolu- 
tionary struggle,  and  the  Van  Houtons  were  no 
exception  to  the  rule.  Barent,  being  one  of  the 
most  prominent  of  the  young  men  of  that  family, 
was  looked  upon  and  recognized  as  a  leader  in  all 
things  social  or  political,  and  his  influence  among 
them  was  great  and  powerful.  In  person  he  was 
the  perfection  of  manly  beauty,  being  rather  above 


10  CLAUDIUS, 

the  medium  height,  broad  shouldered  and  power- 
fully built,  with  a  high  and  expansive  forehead, 
around  which  his  dark  hair  clustered  in  short  and 
wavy  curls.  His  whole  contour  reminded  one  of 
a  finished  Corinthian  column  carved  by  the  in- 
spired hand  of  Phidias.  The  Van  Houton  home- 
stead was  situated  in  a  beautiful  valley  near  the 
center  of  what  was  called  in  those  days  Orange 
County  south  of  the  mountains.  It  was  a  typical 
Dutch  mansion,  built  in  the  most  substantial  man- 
ner of  stone,  with  hipped  roof  and  an  expansive 
hall  running  through  the  center  from  front  to  rear. 
Everything  about  it  betokened  the  easy  circum- 
stances and  comparative  opulence  of  its  owner. 
The  barns  and  outbuildings  were  numerous  and 
extensive,  as  was  required  by  the  large  and  pro- 
ductive farm  surrounding  them.  The  family  con- 
sisted of  Rulof,  the  father,  his  wife  and  Barent, 
their  only  child. 

Among  the  neighbors  of  the  Van  Houtons  was 
the  large  and  prosperous  family  of  the  Onder- 
donks,  distantly  related,  and  of  the  same  patriotic 
impulses.  Of  all  the  young  men  of  the  surround- 
ing country,  there  was  none  of  more  earnest 


THE   COWBOY   OF   RAMAPO   VALLEY.  II 

patriotism  than  Rembrandt  Onderdonk,  the  eldest 
son  of  old  Martinus,  the  owner  of  many  a  broad  acre 
of  smiling  meadow  land  and  forest.  Rem.,  as  he 
was  called  by  his  family  and  intimate  friends,  was 
of  that  wild  and  impulsive  nature  that  does  with 
the  whole  heart  whatever  is  to  be  done  without 
fear  or  ever  stopping  to  count  the  cost.  He  was 
large  of  frame  and  strong  of  muscle,  standing  six 
feet  four  in  his  stockings,  erect  and  powerful  as 
the  sturdy  oak  of  his  native  forests,  but  withal 
of  a  jovial,  good  nature,  unless  excited  by 
strong  provocation,  when  nothing  could  with- 
stand the  fury  of  his  rage.  Such  were  the  char- 
acteristics and  description  of  Rem.  Onderdonk, 
who,  before  the  revolutionary  struggle  ended,  be- 
came known  throughout  the  district  as  the  fighting 
scout  of  Ramapo.  The  family  besides  Rem.,  were 
Dirck,  a  younger  son,  and  Katherine,  the  only 
daughter,  the  life  of  the  household. 

As  time  passed  things  began  to  take  a  warlike 
turn,  and  early  in  1775  the  news  of  the  battle  of 
Lexington  was  heralded  over  the  land,  and  caused 
the  most  intense  excitement.  At  every  public 
place  in  the  country  and  on  every  street  corner  in 


12  CLAUDIUS, 

the  cities  the  people  were  to  be  seen  discussing 
the  question  of  resistance  to  the  demands  of  the 
mother  country. 

In  that  portion  of  the  country  where  the  scenes 
of  our  story  are  laid,  the  people  ranged  them- 
selves either  upon  the  patriotic,  or,  (as  it  was  called 
in  derision),  the  tory  side  of  the  question.  In 
some  few  instances  families  were  divided  on  the 
subject,  but  the  great  majority  espoused  the  cause 
of  the  Colonies,  and  immediately  set  about  mak- 
ing preparations  to  meet  any  emergency  that 
might  arise. 

In  1774,  at  the  house  of  Yost  Mabie,  at  Tappan, 
the  county  seat  of  Orange,  a  Declaration  of  Rights 
had  already  been  signed  and  given  to  the  world  by 
the  leading  inhabitants,  setting  forth  in  almost  iden- 
tical language  with  the  preamble  of  the  Declaration 
of  Independence  what  the  people  demanded.  Thus 
may  be  seen  the  spirit  which  animated  the  inhabi- 
tants and  made  them  steadfast  through  more  than 
eight  long  years  of  blood  and  carnage,  and  which 
in  the  end  caused  them  to  triumph  over  Great 
Britain's  veteran  soldiery. 


CHAPTER  II. 

In  one  of  the  wildest  and  most  secluded  nooks 
of  Ramapo  Pass  was  gathered  in  the  early  spring 
of  1776  a  band  of  young  men.  They  were 
dressed,  at  least  most  of  them,  in  backwoods  or 
hunter  costume,  and  all  of  them  were  armed  with 
rifles.  In  the  centre  of  the  group  stood  one  who 
was  rather  better  dressed  and  whose  rifle  was  more 
elaborately  inlaid  with  silver  and  mother  of  pearl, 
and  his  form  towered  above  the  others  like  a 
stately  pine  among  the  humbler  hemlocks  of  the 
forest.  His  companions  stood  around  him  in  rapt 
attention,  and  it  was  easy  to  discern  that  they 
looked  upon  him  as  their  leader,  and  one  whose 
commands  they  were  ready  to  obey.  This  was 
Claudius  Smith,  the  tory  leader  of  a  reckless  band 
of  mountaineers,  raised  by  him  from  among  the 
fortresses  of  the  Ramapo  range,  and  to  whom  the 
reader  had  a  slight  introduction  at  the  beginning 
of  our  story. 


14  CLAUDIUS, 

"Boys,"  said  he,  addressing  those  around  him, 
"we  are  just  now  on  the  eve  of  troublous  times, 
and  I  have  no  doubt  we  shall  have  a  lorfg  and 
bloody  war  with  the  traitorous  scoundrels  who 
have  taken  up  arms  against  our  lawful  King,  and 
it  now  behooves  us,  who  have  always  been  loyal 
to  him,  to  foil  their  designs  in  every  way  in  our 
power.  And  while  thus  engaged,  we  can  at  the 
same  time  look  out  for  ourselves  and  act  upon  the 
old  maxim  that  'charity  begins  at  home.'  As 
you  all  are  aware,  that  body  of  traitors,  these  self- 
styled  patriots  called  the  General  Congress,  have 
passed  an  act  and  appropriated  money  to  fortify 
this  pass,  and,  in  fact,  have  already  begun  the 
work  below  Sidman's  Bridge.  We  shall,  there- 
fore, be  forced  to  do  things  quietly  and  hide  our 
intentions  as  much  as  possible  from  the  argus  eyes 
of  the  scouting  parties  who  almost  daily  patrol 
this  valley,  which,  as  you  know,  leads  into  the 
interior  of  the  Province.  And  now,  comrades,  let 
us  disperse  for  the  present,  with  the  understanding 
that  one  week  from  to-day,  at  this  same  hour,  we 
are  to  meet  at  the  old  cavern  on  the  mountains, 
where  we  can  lay  our  plans  with  less  fear  of  inter- 


THE    COWBOY   OF    RAMAPO   VALLEY.  15 

ruption.  Do  not  fail  to  be  there,  for  by  that  time 
we  shall  have  something  of  importance  to  claim 
our  attention." 

As  the  tory  leader  finished  his  short  address 
each  man  shouldered  his  rifle  and  disappeared 
amid  the  gloom  of  the  surrounding  forest. 

'•'  Ha  !  ha  !  ha  !  O,  how  smart  you  tink  you  is, 
Mas'  Claud  !"  And  as  the  last  of  the  tory  gang 
disappeared  in  the  darkness,  there  peered  out  from 
a  dense  laurel  bush  within  twenty  feet  of  their 
trysting  place  a  black  head,  followed  by  the  stal- 
wart form  of  a  negro.  As  he  emerged  from  the 
bush  he  jumped  up  and  struck  his  heels  together 
three  times,  and  as  a  proper  ending  of  the  perform- 
ance, gave  three  or  four  steps  of  a  plantation  jig. 

u  O  !  I  got  you  dis  time,  Mas'  Claud.  I  was 
mos'  sure  you  was  up  to  some  debilment  !  Dem 
tories  am  jist  like  dogs  !  Whar  you  see  tree  or 
four  makin'  a  bizness  runnin'  togeder,  you  kin 
be  mos'  sartin  dat  somebody's  sheep  am  gwine  to 
suffer.  Now  I'se  bound  to  sarcumvent  your  deb- 
iltry  sure."  And  saying  this,  Black  George,  as 
he  was  known  the  country  over,  grasped  his  rifle 
and  struck  a  bee  line  for  the  residence  of  old  Mar- 


1 6  CLAUDIUS, 

tinus  Onderdonk,  where  he  had  resided  all  his 
life,  and  to  whom  both  himself  and  parents  be- 
longed as  slaves. 

It  was  quite  late  in  the  evening  when  George 
reached  the  Onderdonk  mansion,  but  he  found 
Rembrandt  and  several  of  the  young  Whigs  of  the 
neighborhood,  among  them  being  Barent  Van 
Houton,  in  close  and  earnest  consultation.  Before 
the  negro  had  reached  the  house  he  saw  the  light 
flickering  through  one  of  the  shutters,  and  came 
to  the  conclusion  that  before  going  to  bed,  he  must 
inform  Mas'  Rem.  what  he  had  overheard  while 
lying  concealed  in  the  laurel  bush.  He,  there- 
fore, tapped  at  the  window  through  which  he  saw 
the  light.  In  a  moment  Rem.  appeared,  and 
recognizing  George,  immediately  asked  what  was 
wanted.  The  negro  whispered  into  his  ear  that 
he  had  something  of  importance  to  communicate. 
Without  further  ado  Rem.  led  George  in  the  midst 
of  the  assembled  company  and  told  him  to  unfold 
his  secret  before  them  all.  George  told  them  all 
he  had  heard  and  seen  at  the  secret  meeting  of 
the  tory  band  ;  how  young  Claudius  Smith  had 
addressed  them  and  seemed  to  be  their  leader,  and, 


THE   COWBOY   OF   RAMAPO   VALLEY.  17 

finally,  of  the  projected  gathering  of  the  band  a 
week  hence  at  the  cavern  on  the  mountain. 

This,  of  course,  was  news  to  the  assembled 
young  men,  and  though  some  of  them  had  sus- 
picions as  to  the  patriotism  of  Claudius,  still  they 
had  not  thought  he  would  take  an  active  part 
against  the  majority  of  his  countrymen.  But  now 
they  were  undeceived,  for  they  well  knew  the 
truthfulness  and  honesty  of  Black  George,  and 
they  were  sure  he  had  given  them  a  correct  report 
of  what  he  had  discovered. 

After  George  had  told  his  story,  the  young  men 
held  a  sort  of  council  of  war.  Barent  Van  Honten, 
who,  as  was  noted  before,  composed  one  of  the 
number  who  had  met  by  appointment  at  the 
Onderdonk  homestead,  immediately  suggested  that 
it  would  be  wise  to  closely  watch  Claudius  and  his 
future  movements  and  if  he  committed  any  overt 
act,  to  report  it  at  once  to  the  military  head- 
quarters at  Tappan.  He  also  announced  that  a 
company  had  been  organized  there  and  were  ask- 
ing for  recruits  to  fill  up  its  ranks.  u  Now  is  the 
time,"  said  he,  "to  show  our  patriotism  by  our 
acts,  and  setting  the  example  to  others  by  enlist- 


1 8  CLAUDIUS, 

ing  in  the  service  of  the  country,  and  I  feel  sure 
there  is  not  one  present  but  feels  the  same  as  I  do 
and  is  ready  to  throw  his  all  into  the  scales  and 
abide  by  the  issue,  whatever  that  may  be." 

This  little  speech  had  the  desired  effect,  for  one 
and  all  announced  their  intention  of  enlisting  in 
the  ranks  of  the  patriot  army  which  was  being 
organized  throughout  the  land. 

Thus  it  may  be  observed  how  the  seeds  of 
liberty  planted  by  the  sturdy  fathers  of  our  land 
germinated  in  after  years  and  produced  a  crop  of 
patriotic  martyrs  whose  blood  enriched  the  soil  of 
freedom  and  in  the  end  built  up  the  mighty  fabric 
whose  blessings  we  now  enjoy.  It  was  a  late  hour 
when  the  party  dispersed,  each  one  with  the  full 
intention  of  carrying  into  effect  the  resolution 
made  at  the  meeting. 

The  next  day  Rem.  Onderdonk  made  his  way 
to  the  house  of  his  intimate  friend  Barent,  and, 
together,  they  procee4ed  to  Tappan,  the  headquar- 
ters of  the  company  which  was  being  organized 
for  the  service.  Barent  had  already  been  elected 
a  lieutenant  in  the  company  and  was,  therefore, 
in  a  hurry  to  reach  the  place. 


THE   COWBOY   OF   RAMAPO   VALLEY.  19 

Rem.'s  intention  in  going  there  was  to  obtain 
through  the  assistance  of  Barent  a  commission  as 
captain  of  scouts  and  to  receive  permission  from 
the  committee  of  safety  to  raise  a  company  whose 
business  should  be  to  patrol  the  west  bank  of  the 
Hudson  and  watch  the  movements  of  the  preda- 
tory bands  of  tories  and  cowboys  which  infested 
the  country  lying  between  that  river  and  Ramapo 
Pass.  His  mission  proved  successful  and  he  pro- 
ceeded immediately  to  raise  his  company,  which 
was  accomplished  in  a  very  short  time,  when  he 
announced  himself  ready  to  begin  operations. 

To  say  that  Rem.  was  in  his  glory  at  the  pros- 
pect of  being  instrumental  in  circumventing  the 
royalists  did  not  fully  express  his  feelings  on  this 
occasion.  His  company  consisted  of  young  and 
sturdy  patriots  whose  souls  were  in  the  cause  and 
whose  confidence  in  their  leader  was  supreme. 
Leaving  Captain  Rem.  in  a  business  so  much  in 
harmony  with  his  impulsive  nature,  we  will  take 
the  reader  to  somewhat  different  scenes. 


CHAPTER  III. 

On  the  broad  piazza  of  a  large  and  comfortable 
looking  dwelling  situated  among  the  pleasant  sur- 
roundings of  rural  life,  and  on  the  highway  leading 
from  Ramapo  Pass,  were  seated,  in  the  early 
evening  of  a  beautiful  day  in  1776,  a  young  couple 
in  earnest  conversation. 

u  My  dear  Mary,"  said  the  young  man  to  his 
companion,  "the  time  has  arrived  when  every 
young  man  should  feel  himself  in  duty  bound  to 
aid  his  struggling  country  in  the  effort  she  is  now 
making  to  free  herself  from  the  oppression  of 
Great  Britain.  She  needs  the  influence  and  mate- 
rial aid  of  a:l  her  sons  and  daughters  too.  I  am 
well  aware  of  the  tremendous  and  unequal  strug- 
gle before  us,  but  with  an  honest  belief  in  the 
justice  of  her  cause,  and  a  firm  reliance  on  Him 
who  always  fights  the  battles  of  the  weak,  I  am 
confident  that  we  will  triumph  in  the  end  " 

"I   believe  as  you  do,  Barent,  but  to   think  of 


THE   COWBOY   OF   RAMAPO   VALLEY.  21 

all  the  misery  that  such  a  war  will  bring  upon  our 
land  alrnosr  unnerves  me,"  said  his  companion. 

The  reader,  of  course,  recognizes  the  young  man 
as  Barent  Van  Houten,  and  we  will  introduce,  his 
companion  as  Mary  Demaray,  the  only  child  of  old 
Bernhard  Demaray,  the  most  prominent  represent- 
ative of  the  Huguenot  family  of  that  name  in  the 
Province.  She  was  beautiful  beyond  most  of  her 
sex.  Her  hair  hung  in  dark  tresses  to  her  slender 
waist  ;  her  eyes  were  large  and  black  and  of  that 
peculiar  expression  which  tells  of  love  unquench- 
able, and  firm  reliance  and  faith  in  the  object 
of  her  affections.  Mary  Demaray  was  not  the 
plaything  of  an  hour,  nor  the  kind  of  young 
woman  that  needs  to  be  placed  in  a  hot  house 
atmosphere  for  fear  of  withering,  but  one  of  the 
kind  born  for  something  higher  and  better  and 
wh<>se  nature  was  calculated  to  strengthen  and  sus- 
tain the  object  to  which  it  clung. 

"What  you  say  is  no  doubt  too  true,"  rejoined 
Barent.  "Misery  and  suffering  are  the  accompa- 
niments of  every  war,  but  the  die  is  cast  and  the 
Congress  in  session  at  Philadelphia  issued  a 
Declaration  of  Independence  on  the  4th  day  of 


22  CLAUDIUS, 

last  July.  It  only  remains  for  every  true  lover  of 
his  country  to  use  his  earnest  endeavor  to  sustain 
and  uphold  that  declaration." 

"Yes,"  said  she,  "and  I  would  not  have  you 
do  otherwise,  dear  Barent  ;  for  I  too,  though  only  a 
woman,  have  noted  each  successive  act  of  oppres- 
sion passed  by  the  Parliament  and  consented  to 
by  the  King,  as  if  for  the  purpose  of  driving  us  to 
rebellion ,  and,  I  suppose,  if  we  should  remain 
passive  under  •  these,  others  ot  a  more  virulent 
nature  would  be  heaped  upon  us." 

"  But  the  worst  feature  of  this  business,"  con- 
tinued Barent,  "  is  that  there  are  some  persons 
and  families  of  influence  among  us  who  not  only 
feel  coldly  toward  our  cause,  but,  I  fear,  will  even 
take  up  arms  against  us  under  pretense  of  loyalty 
to  the  King.  They  are  being  closely  watched  and 
we  hope  to  frustrate  their  evil  designs  ;  but  they 
can  certainly  do  us  much  harm  and  may  cause 
this  war  to  assume  a  more  horrid  front  by  their 
unnatural  behavior.  However,  let  us  hope  for 
better  days  and  more  peaceful  times." 

Barent  took  an  affectionate  leave  of  his  betrothed, 
sprung  into  the  saddle  and  was  away  to  his  com- 


THE   COWBOY   OF    RAMAPO   VALLEY.  23 

pany  at  Tappan.  Mary  watched  her  lover  until 
his  form  was  lost  in  the  dim  twilight,  when  she 
turned  and  entered  the  house,  where  her  father, 
the  staunch  old  Whig,  was  sitting. 

"Well,  Mary  !  what  good  news  did  Barent 
bring?  "  asked  the  old  man.  "  Nothing  of  greater 
import  than  that  the  Congress  now  in  session  at 
Philadelphia  almost  unanimously  issued  a  Declara- 
tion of  Independence  on  the  4th  day  of  last  July," 
replied  the  daughter. 

"  Well  done  for  them  !  I  glory  in  their  staunch 
patriotism.  The  world  will  now  know  what  we 
are  fighting  for  !  There  is  nothing  indefinite 
about  that,  and  it  will  cause  the  line  to  be  strictly 
drawn  between  patriot  and  traitor  so  that  we  shall 
know  who  are  our  friends,  and  who  our  foes." 

Although  the  Declaration  of  Independence  had 
been  signed  several  months  previously,  Barent  had 
brought  the  first  news  of  the  event  to  this  retired 
spot,  the  delay  of  course  being  due  to  the  lack  of 
telegraphs  and  railroads  at  the  time  of  which  we 
are  writing.  This  important  event  gave  hope  and 
courage  to  the  Whigs  and  caused  depresssion  and 
anger  among  the  tories  throughout  the  land. 


CHAPTER    IV. 

About  a  week  after  the  meeting  of  the  young- 
Whigs  at  the  house  of  Rem.  Onderdonk,  himself 
and  Black  George  might  have  been  seen  in  earnest 
consultation  near  one  of  the  large  Dutch  barns  at 
the  rear  of  the  dwelling.  "  Now  George,"  said 
Rein.,  "I  shall  depend  upon  you  to  find  out 
exactly  where  the  meeting  place  of  these  tories  is 
situated.  Where  that  cavern  is  located,  I  do  not 
certainly  know,  but  I  feel  sure  that  you  can  find 
it  and  therefore  I  want  you  to  start  this  afternoon, 
as  to-night  you  know  is  the  time  set  for  their 
meeting.  Proceed  to  the  foot  of  the  mountain, 
conceal  yourself  at  some  point  where  you  can  see 
without  yourself  being  seen,  and  I  am  almost  con- 
fident you  will  notice  some  of  them  on  their  way 
there,  when  you  can  stealthily  follow,  keeping 
yourself  out  of  sight,  and  finally  locate  the  head- 
quarters of  the  gang." 

"I  am  de  boy  for  dat  bizness,  Mas'  Rem  !"   said 


THE   COWBOY   OF   RAMAPO   VALLEY.  25 

George.  "  Jist  you  leab  it  to  me,  and  if  I  don't  run 
dem  tories  to  dar  hole,  you  kin  call  me  a  fool 
nigger  !" 

This  was  a  business  which  exactly  suited  Black 
Geoige,  and  he  began  the  work  immediately. 
Going  into  the  large,  old-fashioned  kitchen  he 
took  from  its  resting  place  his  trusty  old  rifle,  and 
taking  a  path  that  led  through  the  heavy  wood- 
land northward,  he  was  soon  lost  to  view  from  the 
farm  house.  Striking  across  the  dense  swamps 
and  forests  which  lay  between  the  Onderdonk  farm 
and  the  base  of  Kakiatt  mountain,  he  was  soon 
upon  ground  where  he  deemed  concealment  to  be 
the  better  part  of  valor.  He  consequently  kept 
himself  under  cover  as  much  as  possible,  picking  his 
way  through  the  underbrush,  which  grew  on  the 
mountain  side.  He  finally  secreted  himself  in  an 
almost  impenetrable  thicket  on  one  of  the  foot 
hills  of  the  range. 

"Now  den,  Mas'  Claud  !  I  is  in  dis  nest  fer  to 
watch  yer  capers,  an'  if  dis  child  don't  find  oui 
where  ye  put  up  nights,  den  my  name  ain't 
George,"  said  the  negro  to  himself. 

He  had  not  been  secreted    more    than    half  an 


26  CLAUDIUS, 

hour  when  he  heard  a  cautious  footstep  below  him. 
Peeping  cautiously  from  the  bush  in  which  he  had 
taken  refuge,  George  saw  a  man  with  his  rifle 
slung  across  his  shoulder  slowly  and  carefully 
ascending  the  hill.  He  passed  within  a  dozen  yards 
of  where  the  negro  lay  and  made  his  way  silently 
toward  the  summit.  He  had  scarcely  gone  a  hun- 
dred yards  when  George  emerged  from  his  hiding 
place  and  quietly  followed  him. 

"  Dis  am  a  hot  trail  sure,  and  I'se  got  de  scent 
strong,  and  I  guess  I  won't  lose  it,"  said  George  to 
himself,  as  he  stepped  quietly  along  behind  the 
man.  They  kept  on  in  this  way  for  some  time 
until  the  person  in  advance  had  nearly  reached  the 
summit,  when  he  suddenly  stopped  and  gave  a 
peculiar  whistle,  low  and  somewhat  prolonged. 
In  a  moment  it  was  answered  from  what  seemed 
a  rift  in  the  rocks  to  the  left  of  where  he  stood. 
Again  another  low,  short  note  and  an  answering  one 
from  the  rocks  and  then  a  man  appeared  as  though 
he  had  risen  out  of  the  earth  close  beside  the  rift. 
The  man  then  advanced  and  the  two  disappeared 
as  though  by  magic.  Black  George  lay  low  now, 
and  from  then  until  darknes  closed  in  around  the 


THE   COWBOY   OF   RAMAPO   VALLEY.  27 

mountain,  he  saw  eighteen  armed  men  approach, 
give  the  signal,  and  disappear  in  the  rift  in  the 
rocks.  The  negro  now  marked  well  the  lay  of 
the  land,  noted  the  different  land  marks,  and  feel- 
ing sure  he  would  have  no  trouble  in  locating  the 
cavern  afterwards,  carefully  descended  the  moun- 
tain and  before  midnight  was  again  at  the  Onder- 
donk  homestead.  He  immediately  communicated 
what  he  had  discovered  to  Mas'  Rein.,  who,  after 
questioning  him  to  his  satisfaction,  told  him  to  be 
sure  to  keep  in  mind  the  direction  and  landmarks 
by  which  to  locate  the  cavern,  as  his  knowledge 
would,  in  the  near  future,  be  put  to  the  test. 
"All  right,  Mas'  Rem,  I  got  'em  all  here,"  and 
Black  George  tapped  his  forehead  significantly,  to 
show  where  he  had  stored  the  knowledge. 

Among  the  many  admirers  of  Katharine  Onder- 
donk,  the  beautiful  and  accomplished  daughter  of 
old  Martinus,  was  young  Claudius  Smith,  the  sus- 
pected leader  of  the  tory  band.  He  had  been 
quite  a  frequent  visitor  at  the  mansion  in  the 
past,  and  from  appearances  an  not  altogether  un- 
welcome one — at  least  so  thought  several  of  the 
young  men  who  had  some  aspirations  to  the  hand 


28  CLAUDIUS, 

of  Katherine — and  so  his  appearance  there  three 
days  after  George  had  located  the  tory  headquar- 
ters on  the  mountain  did  not  seem  a  thing  unusual 
to  the  casual  observer. 

Claudius  was  received  by  Katharine  in  a  cordial 
manner  and  invited  into  the  dwelling.  His  horse 
was  taken  by  one  of  the  colored  servants  and 
properly  cared  for,  and  everything  was  done  to 
make  his  visit  as  agreeable  as  possible.  But  he 
did  not  seem  to  feel  at  ease,  and  Katharine  noticed 
during  the  conversation  that  he  was  preoccupied 
and  his  whole  demeanor  like  one  who  had  some- 
thing weighty  on  his  mind.  In  the  evening  Rein, 
arrived  at  home  and  was  met  by  George,  who  im- 
mediately imformed  him  of  the  presence  of 
Claudius  in  the  house.  A  frown  spread  over 
Rem.'s  usually  pleasant  countenance,  and  after  in- 
quiring of  George  how  long  he  had  been  there 
strode  into  the  room  where  his  sister  was  enter- 
taining her  visitor. 

"Good  evening  Claudius!"  said  Rem.  as  he 
entered.  "  Good  evening  Rembrandt  !  "  returned 
Claudius.  "  The  weather  is  fine  and  the  air  brac- 
ing, and  I  enjoyed  my  ride  over  here  more  than  I 


THE   COWBOY   OF   RAMAPO   VALLEY.  29 

can  tell  you."  "Yes,"  said  Rem.,  "the  weather 
is  fine  and  everything  in  nature  looks  favorable, 
but  our  country  is  entering  upon  what  may  prove 
a  long  and  bloody  struggle  against  the  tyranny  of  a 
mad  King  and  what  appears  to  be  an  insane 
Parliament." 

' '  Well, ' '  remarked  Claudius,  "  as  to  there  being  a 
long  war,  it  may  be  true,  but  as  to  the  tyranny  of 
the  King  and  Parliament,  I  believe  their  acts  are 
legal,  and  that  it  is  only  right  and  proper  that  we 
should  assist  in  paying  for  our  own  protection. 
The  armies  of  the  mother  country  were  sent  here 
to  aid  us  in  defending  our  soil  agdinst  the  invasion 
of  the  French  and  the  atrocities  of  their  savage 
allies  ;  and  now,  when  she  needs  our  help  finan- 
cially, I  see  no  reason  in  our  resisting  her  just 
demands." 

"I  had  hoped  for  better  things  from  you,  Claud- 
ius," returned  Rem.,  "and  imagined  that  in  you 
we  would  have  a  strong,  intelligent  and  faithful 
ally  ;  but  it  seems  I  have  been  deceived  in  so  think- 
ing, and  must,  though  reluctantly,  place  you 
among  the  enemies  of  Liberty." 

"If  to    be   loyal  to    our  annointed    King,    and 


30  CLAUDIUS, 

ready  to  uphold  the  laws  of  the  land,  makes  one 
an  enemy  to  liberty,  you  are  welcome  to  place  me 
in  that  category,"  replied  Claudius. 

Katharine,  who  had  been  sitting  by  silently 
thus  far,  now  made  an  effort  to  turn  the  conversa- 
tion toward  a  less  dangerous  subject.  She  there- 
fore inquired  of  Rem.  (who  had  just  returned  from 
the  neighborhood  of  King's  Ferry),  as  to  the  health 
of  some  relatives  residing  there.  But  he  did  not 
seem  to  hear  her,  and  said  to  Claudius  : 

"Well,  we  have  been  friends  for  many  years, 
and  I  had  hoped  to  remain  such  for  many  more  ;  but 
the  time  has  arrived  when  we  must  consider  those 
who  are  not  for  us  as  being  against  us." 

"As  to  that,  you  must  use  your  own  judgment  ; 
but  let  me  warn  you,  Rembrandt,  to  beware  of 
following  the  lead  of  .the  traitorous  crew  who,  as  I 
am  informed,  are  already  organizing  an  army  to 
withstand  the  just  demands  of  the  mother  country, 
for  it  will  bring  swift  destruction  upon  the  head  of 
every  one  found  in  the  ranks,  and  in  open  treason 
to  the  government,"  said  Claudius,  as  Rem.  bade 
him  goodbye  and  left  the  house. 

He  remained  but  a  short  time  at  the  Onderdonk 


THE   COWBOY   OF    RAMAPO   VALLEY.  31 

mansion  after  his  rather  exciting  conversation  with 
Rem.,  and  which  had  left  a  bitter  feeling  in  the 
hearts  of  the  young  men.  Of  course  his  opinions 
found  no  sympathy  in  that  quarter,  and  even 
Katharine  concluded  that  the  principles  held  by 
Claudius  were  not  calculated  to  promote  good  feel- 
ing in  that  community  ;  and  she  really  hoped  his 
visits  there  might  become  less  frequent. 


CHAPTER  V. 

Ramapo  Valley,  which  pierces,  and  really  cuts 
in  twain,  the  rugged  hills  of  the  Ramapo  range,  is 
one  of  the  most  remarkable  defiles  in  the  country. 
The  scenery  throughout  the  entire  sixteen  miles  of 
its  length  is  grand  and  imposing.  At  no  place  is 
it  more  than  half  a  mile  in  width.  From  the  nar- 
row pass  at  its  southern  outlet,  where  stand  the 
twin  peaks  of  Noorde  Kup,  and  Hooghe  Kup,  to  its 
northern  extremity,  where  the  mountains  slope 
down  into  the  fertile  fields  of  old  Orange,  it  is 
romantic  beyond  description.  Upon  either  side 
rise  the  rugged  granite  walls,  from  a  thousand  to 
fifteen  hundred  feet  in  height,  while  through  the 
center  of  the  valley  flow  the  waters  of  the  lovely 
Ramapo  river ;  here,  gliding  peacefully  along 
through  smiling  meadows,  and  again,  leaping  in 
mad  energy  over  scraggy  rocks,  or  tumbling  in 
mist  and  foam  over  miniature  Niagaras,  making  it 
all  in  all  one  of  the  most  delightful  mountain  val- 
leys in  this  broad  land. 


THE   COWBOY   OF   RAMAPO   VALLEY.  33 

At  the  time  of  which  we  write  it  was  closely 
settled.  Near  the  southern  mouth,  fortifications  in 
the  shape  of  a  couple  of  block  houses  had  been 
erected  at  some  previous  period  for  protection 
against  the  Indians,  and  near  by  them  was  a  single 
farm  house.  From  there  northward  through  the 
valley  was  here  and  there  a  farm  house  or  a  log 
hut  of  a  mountaineer,  until  you  came  near  the 
northern  end,  where  a  more  imposing  structure 
had  been  built.  It  was  a  substantial  log  house  of 
considerable  size  and  stood  in  a  sheltered  nook  of 
the  mountains  on  the  east  side  of  the  valley.  Its 
surroundings  were  such  as  betokened  easy  circum- 
stances in  those  who  occupied  it.  The  outbuild- 
ings were  extensive  and  in  good  repair,  and 
everything  about  indicated  that  the  lord  of  this 
mansion  was  not  of  the  common  herd. 

This  was  the  home  of  the  Smith  family,  of 
which  Claudius  was  a  prominent  member.  The 
family  consisted  of  the  old  man  Jacobus,  his  wife 
Maria,  both  of  whom  had  already  passed  the  com- 
mon limit  of  three  score  years  and  ten;  two  sons, 
Cobus  and  Claudius  ;  and  a  daughter  named  Sally. 
3 


34  CLAUDIUS, 

The  whole  family  was  noted  for  the  size  and 
strength  of  its  members  ;  for  their  rugged  endur- 
ance, and  above  all  for  a  certain  shrewdness  in 
making  bargains  ;  in  fact  for  knowing  how  to 
make  money,  and  keeping  it  after  it  was  made. 
But  above  all  the  rest,  were  these  characteristics 
developed  in  the  youngest  son,  Claudius.  Not 
only  was  he  the  giant  of  the  family  physically, 
but  also  far  above  them  in  intellect,  and  all  that 
goes  to  make  a  leader  of  men  ;  but  as  the  reader 
has  had  an  introduction  to  him  before,  we  need 
follow  this  line  no  farther.  Be  it  known  from 
henceforth,  that  he  was  the  Smith  of  the  family, 
and  the  one  who  afterwards  made  the  name  known 
throughout  the  land  ;  whether  for  good  or  evil, 
the  reader  may  be  able  to  decide  when  our  story 
is  told. 

It  was  quite  late  in  the  evening  when  Claudius 
returned  from  his  visit  to  Katharine  Onderdonk, 
and  as  might  be  expected  he  was  not  in  the  best 
humor,  for  he  clearly  saw  that  under  the  circum- 
stances it  was  doubtful  whether  his  suit  for  the 
hand  of  the  patriotic  maiden  would  prove  success- 
ful. He  feared  the  influence  of  Rem.  on  his  sister 


THE   COWBOY   OF    RAMAPO    VALLEY.  35 

would  prove  too  heavy  a  factor  to  be  eliminated 
even  by  the  love  he  thought  the  daughter  of  old 
Martinus  bore  him.  As  he  arrived  at  the 
house  he  threw  himself  from  the  saddle  and  entered 
the  room  where  his  mother  and  sister  were  sitting 
engaged  in  some  feminine  occupation. 

A  mother's  eye,  it  is  said,  can  discern  the 
workings  of  her  offspring's  heart  quicker  and 
truer  than  all  the  world  beside.  The  mother  of 
Claudius  was  no  exception  to  the  rule,  for  he  had 
scarcely  set  his  feet  across  the  threshold  when  the 
old  lady  discovered  the  cloud  on  his  brow. 

"  How  now  Claud  !"  said  she,  "what  is  it  ails 
my  boy?  "  What  has  come  over  you  that  I  see 
the  bad  light  in  your  eye?  "  "  Nothing,  mother, 
that  amounts  to  anything  excepting  that  there  are 
many  more  traitors  to  the  King  than  I  or  any  one 
else  expected."  "Ah,  my  boy,  it  is  more  than 
that  worries  you  !  Has  old  Onderdonk's  daughter 
jilted  you?  If  she  has  it  serves  you  right,  and 
shame  it  is  that  a  son  of  ours  should  be  currying 
favors  from  such  as  they,"  replied  the  old  woman. 

Such  talk  from  his  mother  still  further  angered 
Claudius,  as  he  answered:  "No  mother  you  are 


36  CLAUDIUS, 

wide  of  the  mark.  It  is  not  love,  but  war  that  I 
am  thinking  of.  Instead  of  Cupid  with  his  boyish 
pranks  and  harmless  weapons  it  will  be  old  Mars, 
the  horrid  god  of  war,  at  whose  shrine  we  will  all 
be  worshipping  ;  for  as  I  live,  I  believe  ere  the 
new  year  comes  around  the  war  cry  will  be  heard 
ringing  among  the  hills  and  valleys  of  our  land. 
The  whole  country  seems  ripe  for  rebellion,  and  it 
behooves  us,  who  are  friends  of  the  King,  to  make 
preparation  to  aid  him  in  crushing  out  the  spirit  of 
revolt,  which  is  stalking  ghostlike  over  the  whole 
country." 

"Where  is  Cobus?"  asked  Claudius  of  his 
mother.  "  I  do  not  know,  though  he  was  here 
a  short  time  ago.  He  may  be  at  neighbor  Jones',  " 
answered  the  old  lady. 

Cobus  was  the  eldest  of  the  two  brothers,  in 
whom  Claudius  placed  great  confidence  and  whose 
counsel  he  sought  on  all  occasions.  Leaving  his 
mother  and  sister,  he  started  in  search  of  his 
brother  whom  he  found  at  the  barn,  having  just 
returned  from  a  short  visit  to  one  of  the  neighbors. 
They  held  long  counsel  together,  the  purport  of 
which  is  made  known  by  the  parting  words  of 


THE   COWBOY   OF    RAMAPO    VALLEY.  37 

Claudius  :  "  See  every  man  if  possible  by  tomor- 
row night.  Inform  them  where  we  are  to  meet, 
and  do  not  forget  to  impress  upon  them  the  fact 
that  there  may  be  work  to  do,  and  therefore  to 
come  thoroughly  armed  and  ready  for  active  ser- 
vice." "I  will  see  that  all  is  done  as  you  re- 
quire," replied  Cobus. 

With  these  words  the  brothers  parted  and  retired 
to  their  respective  couches  to  woo  the  drowsy  god 
of  sleep. 


CHAPTER  VI. 

On  the  iyth  of  June,  1775,  the  battle  of  Bunker 
Hill  occurred  and  the  particulars  thereof  were  sent 
to  every  nook  and  corner  of  the  Provinces.  It  was 
the  first  time,  really,  that  any  considerable  num- 
ber of  the  opposing  forces  had  been  engaged,  and 
the  result  was  such  as  to  encourage  the  patriotic 
sons  of  America  to  nobler  and  more  effective 
efforts.  It  had  been  discovered  that  American 
militiamen  were  able  to  meet  the  veteran  soldiers 
of  Great  Britain,  and,  on  even  terms  to  at  least  hold 
their  own,  and  render  a  good  account  of  themselves. 
Only  for  the  reason  that  ammunition  had  failed, 
they  would  probably  have  destroyed  the  greater 
portion  of  the  army  that  was  sent  to  dislodge 
them. 

This  opening  battle  of  the  Revolution  was  con- 
dusive  of  much  good  to  the  patriotic  cause.  It  in- 
fused new  life  into  the  hearts  of  the  people,  and 
in  fact  caused  the  whole  country  to  spring  to 


THE   COWBOY   OF   RAMAPO   VALLEY.  39 

arms.  From  the  bleak  hills  of  New  Hampshire 
to  the  smiling  savannas  of  our  southern  land,  the 
call  to  arms  was  heard.  It  united  and  consolidated 
the  different  Provinces  in  the  bold  determination 
to  free  themselves  entirely  from  the  oppression  of 
the  mother  country.  Those  who  before  had 
wavered  and  looked  upon  the  signers  of  the 
Declaration  as  men  who  had  rashly  burned  their 
bridges  behind  them  now  came  forward  and  either 
enlisted  in  the  army  or  gave  of  their  means  to  its 
support. 

Washington  had  been  appointed  by  the  second 
General  Congress,  Commander-in-Chief  of  the  Amer- 
ican forces  and  was  on  his  way  to  Boston  to  assume 
the  command.  In  every  part  of  the  country  com- 
panies were  being  organized  and  drilled  for  active 
service  against  the  invaders.  Barent  Van  Houten 
and  his  company  were  already  in  the  city  of  New 
York  and  composed  part  of  the  force  encamped  at 
Harlem  Heights,  where  fortifications  were  erected 
for  the  defence  of  the  city.  Ramapo  Pass  was  also 
being  fortified,  appropriations  for  the  same  having 
been  made  by  act  of  the  General  Congress,  and  Fort 
Sidman  was  built  near  the  southern  mouth  of  the 


40  CLAUDIUS, 

valley  to  protect  this,  the  main  pass  through  the 
highlands  between  the  Hudson  and  the  Delaware. 

It  was  a  time  of  energetic  organization  among 
the  sons  of  liberty  throughout  the  thirteen  colo- 
nies, which  together,  formed  the  brightest  jewel 
in  England's  crown. 

Rembrandt  Onderdonk,  now  a  captain  of  scouts, 
was  busily  engaged  in  watching  the  movements  of 
British  war  vessels  on  the  Hudson  river,  and  the 
doings  of  the  tories  and  cowboys  between  that 
river  and  Ramapo  Pass.  Word  had  been  sent  him 
from  several  different  points,  of  depredations  com- 
mitted by  them  upon  the  farmers  of  the  district. 
Cattle  and  horses  were  stolen  and  the  inhabitants 
maltreated  and  abused  if  they  dared  to  protest 
against  these  acts  of  violence. 

On  the  afternoon  of  the  day  set  for  the  gathering 
of  the  band  under  Claudius  Smith,  there  seemed 
-to  be  more  than  the  usual  number  of  visitors  at 
the  Smith  homestead  in  the  valley.  There  were 
hardy,  rough  looking  men  arriving  and  departing, 
as  though  they  had  come  to  headquarters  to  report 
and  receive  orders  ;  and  such  in  fact  was  the  case, 
for  Claudius  was  there,  and  the  men  seen  going  in 


THE   COWBOY   OF   RAMAPO   VALLEY.  41 

and  out  were  of  the  kind  who  acknowledged  him 
as  their  leader  and  in  whom  they  placed  the 
utmost  confidence. 

He  occupied  a  small  room  in  the  rear  of  what 
might  be  called  the"  bar-room  (for  old  man  Smith 
kept  a  country  tavern),  and  there  he  received  his 
men,  gave  them  their  orders,  and  sent  them  on 
their  way  to  carry  out  his  plans. 

As  the  shadows  of  night  closed  in  around  the 
valley  the  chief  himself  emerged  from  the  house, 
and  mounted  his  horse  which  had  been  held  in 
readiness  by  a  colored  servant.  He  was  well 
mounted  on  a  little  and  beautiful  black  gelding, 
whose  glistening  coat  denoted  the  care  and  groom- 
ing he  received,  and  taking  a  bridle  path  down 
the  eastern  side  of  the  valley,  was  soon  lost  to 
sight  in  the  gathering  twilight.  Claudius  con- 
tinued down  the  valley,  until  he  came  to  where 
the  towering  form  of  Man  of  War  Rock  could  be 
distinguished  on  the  western  heights,  when  he 
turned  sharply  to  the  left  and  began  to  ascend  the 
eastern  range. 

It  was  a  steep  and  tortuous  path,  but  the  rider 
knew  every  inch  of  it  as  well  as  the  grounds  about 


42  CLAUDIUS, 

his  birthplace.  He  ascended  until  he  reached  the 
summit,  when  he  drew  rein  and  stood  motionless 
as  a  statue.  Taking  a  small  silver  whistle  from 
his  pocket,  he  placed  it  to  his  mouth  and  blew  a 
low  prolonged  note.  In  a  few  seconds  it  was 
answered  by  a  similar  whistle  from  some  rocks 
beyond.  Again  he  blew  a  short  sharp  note,  and 
then  a  man  appeared  as  if  rising  out  of  the  ground 
not  five  rods  from  where  he  stood.  He  raised  his 
hat,  gave  the  chief  a  military  salute,  advanced  a 
few  paces  and  came  to  a  halt. 

Claudius  sprang  from  his  horse,  threw  the  bridle 
over  his  neck,  and  walking  up  to  the  sentinel, 
asked  whether  Cobus  .had  arrived?  "Yes," 
answered  the  man,  "he  is  there  (pointing  to  a 
ledge  of  rocks)  with  all  the  rest."  "Take  care  of 
my  horse,"  said  the  leader,  and  with  these  words 
he  disappeared  into  a  peculiar  opening  in  the  rocks. 

The  man  led  the  horse  a  short  distance  to  the 
north,  where  beneath  the  shelter  of  an  immense 
overhanging  rock  he  secured  him  to  a  staple 
fastened  in  the  solid  granite  wall.  This  place 
(since  known  throughout  that  vicinity  as  Horse 
Stable  Rock)  would  contain  probably  thirty  or 


THE   COWBOY   OF    RAMAPO   VALLEY.  43 

forty  horses  or  cattle  with  comparative  ease  and 
comfort  to  the  animals,  and  was  almost  perfectly 
secure  from  observation.  Great  hemlocks  with 
their  dense,  dark  foliage  reaching  almost  to  the 
ground,  stood  along  the  front,  while  beneath  them 
grew  a  natural  hedge  of  evergreen  laurel  with  in- 
terlacing branches,  which  together  formed  an 
impenetrable  thicket,  completely  hiding  everything 
within. 

The  secret  rendezvous  of  the  tory  band  was  one 
of  the  most  remarkable  natural  caverns  in  exist- 
ence. Situated  as  it  was  near  the  summit  of  the 
eastern  range  of  the  Ramapo  mountains,  it  was 
well  calculated  for  the  headquarters  of  a  gang  of 
lawless  spirits,  whose  doings  would  not  stand  the 
light  of  day.  It  also  had  this  advantage,  that 
during  the  day  time  no  one  could  approach  it 
without  being  discovered  by  the  sentinel  on  guard, 
as  the  location  commanded  a  view  in  every  direc- 
tion. 

When  Claudius  entered  the  cavern  he  found 
nearly  the  whole  band  there.  The  room,  which 
was  about  twenty  feet  square,  was  lighted  by 
tallow  candles  set  on  small  ledges  against  the  side 


44  CLAUDIUS, 

walls,  and  one  rude  chandelier  hung  from  the 
center  of  the  roof.  As  he  entered  the  men  rose 
and  greeted  him  cordially.  "I  am  pleased  to  see 
you  all  so  punctual,"  said  he,  "  and  now,  let  us  to 
business  ! "  He  took  a  seat  at  a  small  table  in  the 
center  of  the  room,  and  thus  addressed  his  assem- 
bled followers  :  "  Boys,"  said  he,  "  there  is  work 
to  be  done,  there  is  money  to  be  earned,  and  at 
the  same  time  our  king  and  country  to  be  served. 
The  British  army  will,  in  the  near  future,  require 
provisions,  for  which  the  quartermasters  will  pay 
liberally,  for  they  are  well  supplied  with  the  yel- 
low gold  of  Old  England,  and  I  see  no  reason  why 
we,  who  are  in  sympathy  with  their  cause,  should 
not  earn  an  honest  shilling  by  supplying  them 
with  the  beef  which  is  now  fattening  in  the  rebel 
pastures  around  us.  By  doing  so  we  will  be  aid- 
ing the  cause  of  King  George,  and  what  is  still 
more  to  the  purpose,  helping  ourselves  also.  What 
have  you  to  say  to  this,  my  men?"  asked  the 
chief,  as  he  rose  from  the  chair  and  looked  around 
the  room. 

"We  are  ready  to   follow  you,  Captain    Claud, 
wherever  you  may  lead,"  replied  his  men,  one  and 


THE   COWBOY   OF   RAMAPO   VALLEY.  45 

all.  "And  now,"  said  Claudius,  "to  back  up 
the  good  resolutions  we  have  made,  let  us  drink 
health  to  King  George,  the  rightful  sovereign  of 
these  colonies."  And  calling  on  Cobus  to  bring 
out  the  keg  of  apple  brandy  which  had  been  pro- 
vided for  the  occasion,  they  one  and  all  gathered 
around  the  table,  ready  at  their  captain's  word  to 
drink  to  the  health  of  his  majesty. 

Pewter  cups  holding  about  half  a  pint  were  pro- 
duced and  a  liberal  supply  of  the  fiery  liquid 
poured  into  each  one,  when  Claudius  gave  the 
signal,  and  raising  the  beaker  to  his  lips,  said  : 
"  Here  is  long  life  and  health  to  George  the  Third, 
our  gracious  lord  and  king  ;  perdition,  death,  and 
dishonor  to  all  his  enemies  !"  As  the  last  words 
were  spoken,  they  drank  to  the  sentiment,  and 
clashing  their  cups  together,  until  the  mountain 
cavern  rang  again,  they  gave  three  rousing  cheers 
for  Captain  Claudius  Smith  and  the  undertaking 
they  had  in  hand. 

"Now,"  said  Claudius,  "as  you  are  no  doubt 
aware,  our  work  must  be  mainly  done  at  night. 
And  when  we  can  capture  a  sufficient  number  of 
cattle  or  horses,  it  is  our  plan  to  drive  them  to  this 


46  CLAUDIUS, 

or  some  other  rendezvous  until  we  get  an  oppor- 
tunity to  run  them  into  the  British  lines,  where 
their  sale  will  be  quick  and  profitable."  He  then 
appointed  his  brother  Lieutenant  ;  and  thus  was 
organized  a  band  of  desperadoes,  which,  through- 
out the  whole  revolutionary  struggle  was  a  terror 
to  the  surrounding  country  and  made  the  name  of 
tory  and  cowboy  a  stench  in  the  nostrils  of  every 
honest  man. 


CHAPTER  VII. 

As  time  passed  and  the  different  results  of  the 
Revolutionary  struggle  transpired,  now  depressing 
to  the  patriotic  cause,  and  again  encouraging  the 
actors  in  it  to  renewed  effort  to  throw  off  the 
British  yoke,  events  were  taking  place  among  the 
rural  scenes  where  our  story  is  laid  of  a  character 
calculated  to  arouse  the  bitter  vengeance  of  the 
Whigs  and  cause  them  to  make  a  combined  effort 
to  rid  themselves  of  the  cause. 

Captain  Onderdonk,  as  before  stated,  had  been 
informed  of  the  depredations  committed  in  various 
quarters  by  the  tories  and  cowboys  under  the  com- 
mand of  the  bandit  chief  Claudius,  but  had  been 
kept  from  attempting  their  punishment  by  his 
other  duties  along  the  Hudson  River,  and  in  the 
eastern  part  of  the  district,  until  now,  it  had  be- 
come a  necessity  to  make  a  grand  effort  to  rid  the 
country  of  this  pest,  or  give  over  a  fair  portion  of 
the  Province  to  their  control.  As  to  the  latter 


48  CLAUDIUS, 

alternative,  Captain  Rem.  was  not  constituted 
that  way,  and  determined  to  teach  them  a  lesson 
that  should  not  be  forgotten  during  the  remainder 
of  the  struggle. 

At  this  time  he  was  engaged  with  the  greater 
part  of  his  company  in  patrolling  the  west  bank  of 
the  Hudson  from  Verdrietige  Hook  to  King's 
Ferry.  The  American  army  had  met  with  disaster 
at  White  Plains,  and  had  retreated  and  crossed 
the  river  at  the  latter  place,  while  detachments  of 
the  royalist  forces  were  occupying  the  east  bank 
and  the  country  beyond  for  a  considerable  dis- 
tance. Under  these  conditions  Rem.  did  not 
deem  it  prudent  to  leave  the  river  at  that  point  en- 
tirely unprotected  and  without  a  man  to  watch  the 
movements  of  the  vessels  of  war  which  were  con- 
tinually moving  either  up  or  down  the  stream  and 
annoying  the  inhabitants  who  resided  along  its 
banks. 

He  therefore  selected  twenty  of  the  most  reliable 
men  of  his  company  and  set  out  immediately  for 
the  vicinity  of  Ramapo  Pass.  The  remainder  he 
left  in  charge  of  his  brother  Dirck  (who  acted  as 
his  Lieutenant)  to  keep  watch  of  the  movements 


THE    COWBOY   OF    RAMAPO    VALLEY.  49 

of  the  enemy  there.  Rem.  knew  from  the  report 
which  Black  George  had  made  some  time  before 
pretty  nearly  where  he  might  expect  to  find  the 
rendezvous  of  Claudius  and  his  band,  but  to  make 
it  certain  not  to  miss  the  place  he  determined  to 
get  George  to  act  as  guide. 

Captain  Onderdonk  and  his  little  company 
arrived  at  the  Onderdonk  homestead  just  as  the 
sun  began  to  paint  the  eastern  horizon  with  the 
glorious  colors  of  a  summer  morning,  having 
marched  all  that  night.  The  household  had  not 
yet  begun  the  labors  of  the  day — in  fact  some  of 
them  were  still  enjoying  their  morning  nap — but 
Black  George  was  found  at  the  barn  attending  to 
the  stock  and  overseeing  several  young  darkies 
who  were  engaged  in  doing  the  morning  chores. 

Captain  Rem.  was  received  by  his  family  with 
expressions  of  joy  ;  and  Katharine  rushed  into  his 
arms,  and  hung  about  his  neck  with  all  the  effu- 
sive tenderness  of  a  loving  sister  for  a  favorite 
brother.  Some  time  had  passed  since  he  had 
visited  the  old  homestead,  and  he  was  therefore 
received  by  the  whole  household  with  more  than 
4 


50  CLAUDIUS, 

the  usuetl  demonstrations  of  gladness.  The  staunch 
old  Whig,  his  father,  immediately  ordered  a  sub- 
stantial breakfast  to  be  prepared  for  the  whole 
company,  and  the  services  of  every  servant  and 
member  of  the  family  were  called  into  requisition 
for  the  occasion. 

Black  George,  the  chief  of  the  retainers  in  the 
employ  of  old  Martinus,  was  especially  busy  to 
make  the  visit  of  "  Mars  Rem."  and  his  company 
as  pleasant  as  possible.  Rem.  was  led  into  the 
great  living  room  of  the  mansion  by  his  sister  and 
for  more  than  an  hour  was  engaged  in  answering 
questions  in  regard  to  his  own  doings,  how  the  cause 
was  progressing  in  the  different  localities  he  had 
visited  in  the  line  of  duty,  how  his  brother  Dirck 
fared,  and  the  thousand  and  one  questions  sug- 
gested by  parental  love  and  interest  in  the  cause 
of  liberty. 

Breakfast  being  ready  the  company  was  ordered 
to  stack  arms  and  then  was  conducted  into  the 
great  kitchen,  where  the  table  was  found  loaded 
with  everything  calculated  to  tempt  the  appetite. 
Having  been  on  the  march  since  the  evening 
previous,  the  men  were  in  condition  to  do  justice 


THE   COWBOY   OF   RAMAPO   VALLEY.  51 

to  the  viands  set  before  them.  After  breakfast 
Rem.  told  his  men  to  take  a  good  rest,  as  in  all 
probability  the  coining  night  would  be  one  of  ex- 
ertion, for  he  determined  if  possible  to  find  the 
rendezvous  of  the  cowboys  and  drive  them  from 
the  vicinity. 

In  the  afternoon  Rem.  consulted  with  George 
and  they  mapped  out  a  plan  of  procedure  to  be 
carried  out  the  coining  night. 

The  sun  had  scarcely  vanished  behind  the 
western  hills  when  Captain  Rem.  called  his  men  to 
arms,  and  headed  by  Black  George  they  began 
their  march  in  search  of  the  cowboy  band.  Strik- 
ing across  the  meadow  land  to  the  north  of  the 
farm  house,  they  soon  entered  the  forest  which  ex- 
tended to  the  foot  of  the  mountain  range,  and 
after  an  hour's  tramp  came  to  the  base  of  the 
mountains. 

The  location  of  the  cavern  had  been  so  minutely 
described  by  George  that  Captain  Rem.  thought 
he  could  find  it  without  assistance.  He  therefore 
divided  his  command  into  two  detachments  often 
each.  George  was  placed  at  the  head  of  one  of 
them  as  guide,  while  Rem.  led  the  other ;  the 


52  CLAUDIUS, 

plan  of  Attack  being  to  approach  the  stronghold 
of  the  cowboys  from  two  sides  at  once  and  thus 
close  in  around  the  place  and  prevent  all  escape. 

Slowly  and  silently  they  ascended  the  moun- 
tain. Not  a  twig  snapped,  not  a  footfall  was 
heard  as  they,  with  difficulty,  clambered  over  the 
precipitous  rocks,  or  crawled  through  the  thick 
underbrush  which  covered  the  eastern  side  of  the 
range.  At  last  the  two  parties  reached  the  sum- 
mit and  deployed  into  skirmish  lines.  They  then 
advanced  toward  each  other  expecting  to  take  the 
bandits  by  surprise.  They  approached  to  within  a 
hundred  yards  of  where  they  felt  certain  the 
cavern  was  situated  when  out  upon  the  night  air 
came  the  report  of  a  dozen  rifles,  resounding 
through  the  mountain  valleys  and  among  the  hills 
like  the  crack  of  doom.  Several  of  the  attacking 
party  went  down  at  the  first  fire,  and  at  least  one 
of  them  was  mortally  wounded. 

Captain  Rem.  tried  to  rally  his  men,  and 
indeed  they  returned  the  fire  as  best  they  could  ; 
but  they  were  fighting  an  invisible  foe  who  had 
been  prepared  for  their  coming,  and  were  hiding 
behind  every  tree  and  rock,  and  with  perfect  safety 


THE   COWBOY   OF   RAMAPO   VALLEY.  53 

picked  off  their  enemies  as  they  caught  sight  of 
them  moving  among  the  trees  upon  the  summit  of 
the  ridge. 

There  was  only  one  remedy,  and  that  was  to  re- 
treat and  get  out  of  the  scrape  as  best  they  could. 
Rem.  therefore  gave  the  order,  and  down  the 
mountain  side  they  went,  carrying  their  wounded 
with  them.  That  there  had  been  a  traitor  in 
camp  was  certain,  and  the  only  way  in  which  it 
could  be  explained  was  that  some  person  whose 
sympathies  were  with  the  tory  band  had  discov- 
ered their  object  while  resting  at  the  Onderdouk 
homestead,  or  had  divined  their  purpose  when  seen 
on  their  march  from  the  Hudson. 

To  say  that  Captain  Onderdonk  was  disap- 
pointed at  the  outcome  of  the  expedition  did  hot 
do  justice  to  his  feelings  on  the  subject  ;  but  like 
the  true  soldier  that  he  was,  he  was  not  totally  dis- 
heartened, and  consoled  himself  and  followers  with 
the  promise  that  they  should  do  better  next  time, 
and  he  further  determined  that  that  next  time 
should  not  be  far  distant  in  the  future.  The  next 
day  he  returned  with  his  company  to  their  camp 
near  the  Hudson. 


CHAPTER  VIII. 

Barent  Van  Houten  had  been  with  his  company 
through  the  disastrous  battles  of  Long  Island  and 
White  Plains  and  in  the  retreat  through  New 
Jersey,  and  was  now  stationed  with  it  as  part  of 
the  force  occupying  the  fortifications  at  Ramapo 
Pass.  This  brought  him  within  a  short  distance 
of  home,  and  of  the  one  who  next  to  his  country 
held  the  most  sacred  place  in  his  affections.  He 
therefore  took  advantage  of  the  opportunity,  and 
procuring  a  furlough  for  a  few  days,  rode  over  to  the* 
old  neighborhood.  He  found  all  the  friends  there 
in -good  health  and  spirits  and  overjoyed  to  receive 
him  safe  and  sound  after  his  long  absence. 

For  Mary  Demaray  the  months  since  he  left  her 
to  proceed  with  his  company  to  the  seat  or  war  had 
passed  on  leaden  wings.  She  was  aware  of  the 
dangers  which  surrounded  him,  of  the  bloody  bat- 
tles he  had  participated  in  and  of  the  defeats  the 
army  had  sustained  of  which  himself  and  com- 
pany formed  a  part,  and  consequently  she  had  been 


.  THE   COWBOY   OF   RAMAPO   VALLEY.  55 

ill  at  ease  under  the  circumstances.  But  her  faith 
in  the  cause  had  been  strong,  and  when  she  heard 
the  good  old  dominie  pray  every  Sabbath  for  the 
success  of  the  American  arms,  she  had  a  firm  re- 
liance that  the  God  of  battles  would  in  the  end 
favor  the  cause  of  the  Colonies. 

After  Barent  had  given  a  detailed  account  to 
his  parents  of  all  the  incidents  and  accidents  he 
had  experienced  during  the  time  he  had  been  with 
the  army,  of  all  the  sufferings  and  sacrifices  en- 
dured by  the  patriots  composing  the  army  and  all 
the  other  information  he  was  possessed  of,  he  rode 
over  to  the  dwelling  of  old  Bernhard  Demaray. 
He  was  received  there  by  the  whole  family  with 
every  demonstration  of  joy  at  his  safe  return  from 
the  campaigns  in  which  he  had  been  an  actor,  and 
for  an  hour  was  kept  busy  relating  to  the  old  gen- 
tleman all  the  incidents  of  the  war  coming  under 
bis  immediate  notice.  To  Mary,  his  betrothed,  he 
poured  out  the  aspirations  of  his  heart  as  together 
they  talked  over  their  prospects  for  the  future  and 
laid  the  plans  which  they  expected  to  see  realized 
when  this  unnatural  struggle  should  come  to  an 
end. 


.56  CLAUDIUS, 

As  the  reader  already  knows,  Barent  was  com- 
missioned a  Lieutenant  when  the  war  began,  but 
he  had  since  been  promoted  to  a  captaincy  for 
brave  and  meritorious  conduct  on  the  field  of  bat- 
tle. Of  course  Mary  felt  a  certain  pride  in  the 
promotion  of  her  gallant  lover,  who  had,  in  the 
most  unselfish  manner,  thrown  his  whole  soul  in- 
to the  cause  of  his  country,  not  knowing  which 
way  the  scale  might  turn,  and  recking  not  of  the 
consequences,  if  in  the  end  the  balance  should 
turn  against  him.  She  recognized  his  noble  na- 
ture, and  was  proud  of  the  valor  he  had  displayed 
in  many  a  bloody  battle  with  the  enemies  of 
liberty,  and  gave  him  all  the  love  her  warm  heart 
was  capable  of,  and  which  was  reciprocated  by 
Barent,  to  whom  she  was  more  than  all  the  earth 
beside. 

But  this  dalliance  with  his  lady  love  could  not 
continue,  for  his  furlough  was  about  expiring 
and  he  must  be  off  to  duty.  So  taking  an  affec- 
tionate leave  of  Mary,  and  bidding  farewell  to  his 
family  and  friends,  he  returned  to  his  post  at  Fort 
Sidman  among  the  Ramapo  mountains. 

About  this  time,  the  autumn  of  1776,  the  spirit 


THE    COWBOY   OF    RAMAPO    VALLEY.  57 

of  the  Americans  was  at  a  low  ebb.  The  army 
had  been  chased  across  New  Jersey  and  into  Penn- 
sylvania, by  Cornwallis,  and  was  quartered  along 
the  banks  of  the  Delaware.  But  an  encouraging 
event  took  place,  when  Washington,  on  the  26th 
December,  recrossed  the  river  and  won  the  battle 
of  Trenton.  This  raised  the  hopes  of  the  people, 
so  that  enlistments  became  more  frequent  and 
supplies  more  plentiful. 

In  that  battle  the  Americans  captured  one 
thousand  Hessians,  slew  their  leader  and  escaped 
back  across  the  Delaware  with  the  loss  of  two 
killed  in  the  action  and  two  others  frozen  to 
death.  A  few  days  after  this,  viz.,  January  3rd, 
1777,  having  again  recrossed  the  Delaware,  Wash- 
ington fell  upon  a  detachment  lying  at  Princeton, 
routed  them,  took  three  hundred  prisoners,  and  by 
a  rapid  march  reached  the  heights  of  Morristown 
in  safety.  This  last  event  set  the  country  wild 
with  joy  and  raised  the  hopes  of  the  friends  of 
liberty  to  a  greater  pitch  than  ever  before. 

While  these  great  events  were  transpiring  in 
New  Jersey,  matters  of  smaller  calibre,  but  not 
less  interesting  to  those  engaged,  were  taking 


58  CLAUDIUS, 

place  among  the  hills  of  Ramapo.  Claudius,  after 
the  repulse  of  the  expedition  sent  against  him 
under  the  command  of  Captain  Onderdonk,  became 
more  audacious  in  his  manner  and  actions,  and 
boldly  led  his  men  into  the  open  country  and 
seized  the  horses  and  cattle  belonging  to  the  farm- 
ers of  the  vicinity  ;  and  if  any  resistance  was 
offered,  did  not  hesitate  to  kill  in  order  to  accom- 
plish his  designs.  These  depredations  were 
becoming  of  such  common  occurrence  and  the 
inhabitants  were  so  thoroughly  terrorized,  that  in 
the  fall  of  1778  complaint  was  made  to  the  Com- 
mander-in-Chief,  whose  headquarters  were  then  at 
the  Suffern  mansion  at  the  southern  end  of 
Ramapo  valley. 

The  work  of  dislodging  this  band  of  marauders, 
as  time  passed,  became  difficult.  Their  emissaries 
were  scattered  over  all  that  part  of  the  country 
which  now  comprises  the  counties  of  Orange  and 
Rockland  in  New  York,  and  Bergen  and  Passaic 
in  New  Jersey.  Every  move  was  watched  and 
every  action  of  the  patriots  was  noted  by  these 
traitors  to  human  liberty,  and  reported  to  the  cow- 
boy chief.  As  may  be  seen,  therefore,  it  was  an 


THE    COWBOY    OF    RAMAPO    VALLEY.  59 

undertaking  of  considerable  magnitude  to  rid  the 
neighborhood  of  this  well  organized  band  of  vil- 
lains. 

Through  the  center  of  this  district  which  they 
infested,  ran  the  range  of  mountains  known  as  the 
Kakiatt,  or  Ramapo  range,  in  the  fastnesses  of  which 
were  located  their  hiding  places.  The  complaints 
against  the  bandits  were  so  many  and  became  so 
urgent,  that  Washington  finally,  after  counseling 
with  officers  who  knew  the  difficulties  and  dangers 
attending  the  business,  selected  Captain  Rem- 
brandt Onderdonk,  with  his  company  of  scouts,  to 
pursue  this  band  of  outlaws,  until  they  were  all 
either  killed,  captured,  or  driven  out  of  the  country. 

With  this  end  in  view,  the  General  sent  for 
Rem.,  who  at  the  time  was  with  his  company  near 
King's  Ferry  on  the  Hudson.  Rem.  soon  appeared 
at  headquarters  ready  for  business.  He  was  con- 
ducted into  the  presence  of  Washington  by  Captain 
Barent  Van  Houten,  who  had  lately  been  appointed 
one  of  his  aids. 

"Captain  Onderdonk,"  said  Washington,  "I 
have  sent  for  you  to  confer  upon  business  of  a  very 
important  nature.  It  appears  from  many  reports 


60  CLAUDIUS, 

received  at  these  headquarters  that  the  mountain 
range  between  this  point  and  King's  Ferry  is  in- 
fested by  a  well  organized  band  of  tories  and  cow- 
boys, led  by  a  most  unscrupulous  and  cunning  man 
by  the  name  of  Claudius  Smith.  You  have  been 
recommended  by  those  in  whom  I  place  the 
utmost  confidence  as  the  one  person  above,  all 
others  to  command  the  expedition  I  intend  to  send 
against  them.  I  will  not  force  this  command  up- 
on you.  I  know  the  danger  and  difficulties  attend- 
ing an  undertaking  of  this  kind.  In  fact  I  will 
accept  none  but  volunteers,  both  officers  and  men. 
What  say  you  Captain  Onderdonk,  can  we  have 
your  services." 

"General,"  answered  Rein.,  UI  have  enlisted 
for  the  war  and  expect  to  serve  until  victory 
crowns  our  efforts  or  my  life  shall  last,  and  am  at 
the  service  of  my  country  in  any  capacity  the 
Commander-in-Chief  may  see  fit  to  designate. " 
"Thank  you,  Captain  Onderdonk  !  I  am  pleased 
to  find  you  willing  to  undertake  this  business  and 
believe  you  will  be  able  to  accomplish  what  you 
are  about  to  set  out  to  do,"  said  the  general. 
"  Captain  Van  Houten  will  accompany  you,  and 


THE   COWBOY   OF   RAMAPO   VALLEY.  6 1 

when  the  soldiers  of  this  post  are  drawn  up  for  in- 
spection, you  have  my  permission  to  call  for  as 
many  volunteers  as  you  need  to  reinforce  your  own 
command,  and  for  the  success  of  the  expedition 
you  have  my  best  wishes." 

So  saying  Washington  dismissed  Captain  Rem., 
who  immediately  proceeded  with  Barent  to  recruit 
his  ranks. 

When  the  men  comprising  the  garrison  of  Fort 
Sidman  were  ordered  out  for  inspection,  Barent 
announced  the  wishes  of  the  General.  Captain 
Rem.  selected  twenty-five  men  out  of  hundreds  who 
volunteered  their  service,  and  leaving  them  at  the 
fort  until  he  could  bring  his  old  company  from 
King's  Ferry,  he  bade  Barent  good  bye  and 
started  on  his  return  to  camp. 


CHAPTER  IX. 

At  the  base  of  the  mountains  where  Call  Hollow 
pierces  the  range  toward  the  north,  was  situated  at 
the  time  of  which  we  write  a  somewhat  dilapidated 
log  house.  Its  surroundings  were  wild  and  for- 
bidding. The  dark  green  foliage  of  the  old  hem- 
locks which  grew  around  it  almost  hid  the  struc- 
ture from  observation,  and  made  the  place  look 
dismal  and  gloomy  in  the  extreme.  The  sole  oc- 
cupant of  this  cheerless  abode  was  an  old  woman 
of  probably  seventy-five.  Though  stooping  some- 
what under  the  weight  of  years,  Aunt  Hester,  as 
she  was  called  by  all  who  knew  her,  was  still  ac- 
tive and  quick  in  her  movements,  and  her  black, 
piercing  eyes  retained  the  brightness  of  youth. 

Throughout  the  whole  neighborhood  she  was 
known  as  a  fortune  teller,  and  by  the  superstitious 
portion  of  the  inhabitants  she  was  suspected  of 
holding  secret  communications  with  the  gentle- 
man in  black.  Strange  stories  of  uncanny  doings 
in  the  old  house  were  told  by  the  people  who  had 


THE   COWBOY   OF   RAMAPO   VALLEY.  63 

occasion  to  pass  the  place  at  night.  Curious  illum- 
inations of  the  house  had  been  seen  in  the  small 
hours  of  the  morning,  when  the  old  lady  had 
guests  of  strange  character,  and  goings  on  were 
heard  and  seen  which  had  the  appearance  of 
ghostly  revels.  In  fact  the  old  woman  had  been 
seen  by  several  (whose  words  were  hard  to  doubt) 
dancing  with  her  naked  feet  in  the  midst  of  glow- 
ing coals,  while  some  one  who  had  the  appearance 
of  Satan  himself  was  playing  upon  a  fiddle  to 
make  the  music  for  her. 

Of  course,  all  these  stories  caused  the  timid 
ones  to  shun  the  place,  and  therefore  Aunt  Hester 
was  not  troubled  or  overburdened  with  visitors. 
It  was  only  now  and  then,  some  rustic  Romeo  ven- 
tured there  to  consult  her  in  regard  to  his  future, 
or  to  find  out  how  his  suit  would  be  received  by  ( 
his  intended  Juliet.  It  was  seldom  any  one  would 
own  to  having  thus  consulted  her,  but  still  it  was 
surmised  that  others,  whose  pretentious  to  greater 
intelligence  was  well  known,  had  crossed  the  old 
dame's  palm  with  the  gold  so  necessary  to  future 
insight,  and  received  from  her  the  horoscope  of 
their  nativity. 


64  CLAUDIUS, 

Be  this  as  it  may,  one  thing  is  certain,  that 
on  a  dark  and  stormy  night  in  the  early  part  of 
the  winter  of  1778,  when  the  north  wind  came 
howling  down  Call  Hollow  and  the  old  hemlocks 
bent  and  swirled  under  the  wintry  blast,  a  stalwart 
form  might  have  been  seen  knocking  for  admission 
at  the  door  of  the  old  log  house.  As  the  man 
stood  there  waiting  to  be  admitted,  the  snow, 
driven  by  the  fitful  gusts  of  wind,  whirled  around 
him  and  dashed  into  his  face  with  terrible  force. 
He  became  impatient  and  knocked  long  and 
loudly.  At  last  the  door  opened  slowly  and  the 
old  woman  asked  who  was  there  and  what  was 
wanted.  "  In  the  first  place  I  want  to  get  in 
out  of  this  infernal  storm,"  said  the  man,  as  he 
pushed  through  the  half  open  door,  "and  in  the 
•next  place  I  have  come  to  find  out  what  is  to  be- 
fall me  in  the  future  ?  "  "  Why  should  you  come 
to  me  on  such  an  errand,  Claudius  Smith  ?  Can't 
you  let  an  old  woman  like  me  rest  in  peace,"  re- 
plied the  old  dame.  "Well,  Aunt  Hester,"  said 
Claudius,  (for  it  was  he)  "it  is  said  in  all  the  country 
round  that  you  can  tell  .what  the  future  holds  in 
store  for  us  poor  mortals,  and  so  I  have  come  to 


THE   COWBOY   OF   RAMAPO   VALLEY.  65 

you  for  that  purpose.  See,  here  is  the  glittering- 
gold  which  is  the  open  sesame  to  your  black  art  !  " 
saying  which,  he  laid  an  English  sovereign  in  her 
hand. 

"Claudius  Smith,"  said  Aunt  Hester,  her  small 
black  eyes  glittering  in  the  light  of  the  tallow 
candle,  like  those  of  a  basilisk,  u  you  don't  want 
me  to  tell  you  of  the  future.  You  know  what 
that  will  be  without  my  telling  ;  therefore  go, 
leave  me  in  peace,  and  trouble  no  more  a  decrepit 
-old  woman  !  "  She  knew  of  the  doings  of  the  man 
who  now  stood  before  her  ;  of  how  unscrupulous 
he  was,  and  how  merciless  toward  those  who 
offended  him  in  any  way.  She  therefore  tried  to 
put  him  off  in  the  manner  stated  above. 

But  the  tory  chief  would  not  be  denied,  and  in- 
sisted that  she  should  read  the  future  for  him. 
"Well,"  said  she,  "if  you  will  have  it,  and  noth- 
ing else  will  do,  why  so  be  it,"  and  suiting  the 
action  to  the  words,  she  brought  out  a  small  pine 
table  and  placed  it  in  the  centre  of  the  room. 
Upon  this  table  she  placed  a  pack  of  common 
playing  cards  and  a  glass  half  filled  with  water. 


66  CLAUDIUS, 

"Sit  there,"  said  she  to  Claudius,  as  she  set  a 
chair  at  one  side  of  the  table.  She  stood  at  the 
opposite  side  and  taking  up  the  pack  of  cards  be- 
gan to  shuffle  them  in  a  peculiar  way  and  finally 
spread  some  of  them  upon  the  table,  while  she 
kept  the  remainder  in  her  hands.  "  Now  draw 
out  three  cards,"  said  she,  at  the  same  time  ex- 
tending to  him  the  part  of  the  pack  she  had  re- 
tained. 

Claudius  did  as  he  was  told  and  drew  out  three 
cards.  "What  have  you  got,"  asked  the  dame. 
The  tory  leader  spread  the  three  cards  face  up 
upon  the  table.  "  I  have  the  six,  four  and  trey  of 
spades, ' '  replied  he.  ' '  Thirteen  ! ' '  groaned  the  old 
woman.  "  Woe  !  woe  !  to  you  man  !  " 

"Now  what  have  we  here?"  said  she,  as  she 
raised  the  half  filled  glass  of  water  and  looked 
into  it.  u  I  see  a  beautiful  maiden,  with  spark- 
ling blue  eyes  and  with  golden  curls.  She  is  sit- 
ting in  a  rustic  arbor  overgrown  with  creeping 
vines.  A  young  man  approaches  and  she  receives 
him  with  joy  !  Now  she  is  gone  !  Again  I  see 
her,  but  frowns  are  in  the  place  of  smiles  and 
anger  has  taken  the  place  of  joy  !  The  vision 


THE   COWBOY   OF    RAMAPO   VALLEY.  67 

disappears,  and  another  takes  its  place  !  "  she  said, 
as  with  trembling  hand  and  tragic  manner  she 
raised  the  glass  still  higher  and  gazed  as  if  en- 
tranced into  its  limpid  depths. 

UI  see  a  burning  building.  The  flames  are 
shooting  skyward.  Armed  men  are  around  it,  and 
the  family  whose  home  it  was,  are  vainly  try- 
ing to  save  their  household  goods.  The  armed 
band  is  gathering  the  horses  and  cattle,  and  now 
at  the  command  of  one  who  seems  to  be  their 
leader,  they  inarch  away,  taking  the  farmer's 
horses  and  cattle  with  them.  But  another  and  a 
stranger  apparition  appears  !  I  see  the  same 
armed  band,  led  by  the  same  leader,  in  deadly 
combat  with  a  larger  force.  Blood  is  flowing 
freely  and  dead  men  lie  around.  At  last  the  band 
is  overpowered  and  all  are  taken  prisoners  that  re- 
main alive  except  the  leader  and  three  others, 
who  escape  by  flight.  Once  more  !  the  fates 
are  propitious  and  another  scene  passes  before 
my  eyes  !  A  country  village  with  court  house 
and  jail  and  now  a  gallows  comes  into  view  ! 
Upon  the  scaffold  under  it  stand  four  men,  one 
of  whom  is  the  leader  of  the  armed  band  ! 


68  CLAUDIUS, 

Officers  of  the  law  are  in  attendance,  and  soldiers 
of  the  patriot  army  surround  the  gallows  !  Lo  ! 
the  rope  is  cut,  and  all  four  are  launched  into 
eternity  !  Thus  have  I  told  your  future,  Claudius 
Smith  !  You  would  have  it  so,  and  I  am  not  to 
blame!" 

"You  lie,  you  weather  beaten  hag!"  shouted 
Claudius.  "That  is  not  my  horoscope  !  You  are 
trying  to  play  upon  my  fears  and  only  that  you  are 
a  woman  I  should  tear  your  old  heart  from  your 
shrunken  body  ! " 

"I  have  told  you  the  truth,"  said  old  Hester, 
"and  now  you  may  do  your  worst.  I  do  not  fear 
you  !  You  may  kill  an  old  and  unprotected  woman, 
but  what  would  it  benefit  you?  You  would  add 
one  more  sin  to  the  many  for  which  your  guilty 
soul  must  answer.  And  that  is  all  !  " 

The  words  of  Claudius  had  aroused  the  old 
woman's  ire,  and  though  the  heavens  should  fall, 
she  would  not  take  back  a  word,  nor  change  in 
the  slightest  degree,  the  horrible  horoscope  she 
had  read  him. 

Claudius,  though  disappointed  and  angered  at 
the  outcome  of  his  visit  to  the  old  hag  at  Call 


THE   COWBOY   OF   RAMAPO   VALLEY.  69 

Hollow,  set  out  on  his  return  to  the  headquarters 
of  his  band.  On  his  way  through  the  mountains 
he  had  ample  time  to  think  over  the  occurrences 
of  the  evening,  and  though  he  made  more  than 
one  resolution  to  throw  the  whole  thing  off  his 
mind,  his  thoughts  would  constantly  revert  to  the 
old  woman's  dire  prophecy.  In  common  with 
many  people  of  the  period  there  was  in  his  com- 
position an  element  of  superstition  which  caused 
him,  in  many  instances,  to  do  things  totally  at 
variance  (as  his  friends  and  comrades  thought) 
with  his  usual  good  judgment.  After  a  toilsome 
journey  among  rocks,  through  underbrush,  and 
over  fallen  tree  tops,  he  arrived  at  the  cave  and 
threw  himself  upon  a  couch  for  a  good  rest. 


CHAPTER   X. 

The  year  1777  was  one  of  great  military  activity 
in  the  Colonies,  or,  as  had  been  proclaimed  by 
the  Declaration,  the  United  States.  The  struggle 
for  independence  might  be  said  to  have  reached  its 
climax  at  the  end  of  that  year.  Princeton,  Ben- 
nington  and  Brandywine  had  been  fought,  and  the 
situation  even  then  was  favorable  to  the  American 
arms.  But  when,  on  the  night  of  the  i7th  of 
October,  the  signal  fires  were  lighted  announcing 
the  capture  of  Burgoyne,  the  whole  country  was 
elevated  to  the  highest  pitch  of  joy.  From  Lake 
Champlain  to  the  Gulf  of  Mexico  there  was  feast- 
ing and  rejoicing.  The  fine  army  under  the  vet- 
eran General  Burgoyne,  in  its  march  from  Canada 
to  form  a  junction  with  Clinton  at  New  York, 
never  anticipated  so  serious  a  check,  and  its  offi- 
cers never  expected  that  the  ragamuffin  army  under 
Gates  would  even  be  a  hindrance  to  their  victorious 
inarch. 


THE   COWBOY   OF    RAMAPO   VALLEY.  71 

But  the  fortunes  of  war  are  always  uncertain, 
and  Bemis'  Heights,  Saratoga  and  Stillwater 
taught  them  a  lesson  they  did  not  soon  forget.  In 
South  Carolina  and  Georgia,  also,  the  half  starved 
and  squalid  troops  of  Marion  and  Sumter,  which 
had  been  hiding  in  swamps  and  forests,  now  came 
forth,  and  with  renewed  energy,  attacked  .the 
British  garrisons  and  harrassed  them  by  unex- 
pected forays,  until  they  were  compelled  to  leave 
their  outposts  in  the  interior  and  retire  to  the 
coast. 

Thus  the  prospects  which  before  these  events 
were  gloomy  and  depressing,  became  brighter  and 
more  cheering  for  the  patriot  cause. 

It  was  the  latter  part  of  this  same  year  and 
shortly  after  his  appearance  at  the  old  log  house, 
that  Claudius  made  a  secret  visit  to  the  Onderdonk 
homestead.  He  knew  that  Rein,  had  been  com- 
missioned to  hunt  him  down  and  to  extirpate  his 
band  if  possible,  but  still  he  determined  to  find 
out  from  Katharine  herself  the  state  of  her  feel- 
ings toward  him.  The  tory  chief  loved  her  with 
all  the  fervor  of  which  his  selfish  heart  was  capa- 
ble, and  believed  that  Katharine  in  a  measure 
reciprocated  those  feelings. 


72  CLAUDIUS, 

He  therefore,  very  unexpectedly  to  the  whole 
family,  appeared  at  the  mansion,  and  soon  learned 
from  her,  that  under  no  circumstances  would  she, 
the  sister  of  Captain  Rem.  Onderdonk,  and  the 
daughter  of  a  staunch  old  Whig,  become  the  bride 
of  an  enemy  to  her  country  and  the  cause  so  dear 
to  her  heart.  Claudius  knew  well  the  stock  from, 
which  she  sprung  and  knew  just  as  well  the  use- 
lessness  of  trying  to  alter  her  mind  by  pleadings,, 
no  matter  how  eloquent  they  might  be.  He  there- 
fore took  leave  of  her  with  courteous  words  and 
polite  manner,  but  with  dire  hate  at  heart  and 
half  formed  resolutions  of  vengeance  in  his  mind. 

Captain  Rem.  and  his  company,  though  they  had 
been  scouring  the  mountains  and  hunting  through 
every  gorge  and  valley  in  the  range  and  had  even 
thoroughly  explored  the  cavern  that  was  formerly 
the  rendezvous  of  the  tory  gang  had  been  unsuc- 
cessful thus  far  in  accomplishing  their  purpose. 
The  emissaries  of  Claudius  had  kept  him  well 
posted  in  regard  to  their  movements  and  he  had 
scattered  his  band  and  kept  them  under  cover  for 
the  present  only  to  be  gathered  again  when  the 
time  was  more  propitious. 


THE   COWBOY   OF   RAMAPO   VALLEY.  73 

One  day  in  the  early  spring  of  1778,  Black 
George  came  running  almost  breathless  from  the 
direction  of  the  forest  north  of  the  Onderdonk 
dwelling,  and  calling  the  old  gentleman  aside, 
said:  "Mas'  Onderdonk,  de  cowboys  am  comin' 
sure!  I  seed  dem  from  whar  I  wus  cuttin'  wood 
jist  beyant  de  swamp!  Dar  am  more  den  forty  ob 
dem,  and  I  am  mos'  sartin  dat  young  Claudius 
Smit  am  de  boss  ob  de  gang!  Dey  aint  comin'  fer 
no  good,  and  I  better  git  de  boys  togedder  fer  to 
be  ready  fer  em,  eh,  Mas'  Onderdonk?"  "Yes, 
George,"  replied  the  old  man,  "but  if  there  are  as 
many  of  them  as  you  think,  we  will  hardly  be  able 
to  withstand  them."  "  We  kin  do  de  bes'  we  kin, 
Mas'  Onderdonk,"  returned  George.  And  having 
received  permission,  he  called  the  work  hands  of 
the  farm,  white  and  black  together,  to  defend  the 
place  as  best  they  could.  The  whole  of  them 
when  assembled  numbered  ten,  young  and  old. 

They  were  armed  with  anything  that  came 
handy — axes,  pitchforks  and  iron  bars  being 
among  the  weapons  provided,  George  and  old 
Martinus  only,  being  armed  with  rifles.  "Now," 
said  George  (when  he  had  assumed  the  command), 


74  CLAUDIUS, 

"we  better  meet  em  at  de  barn,  fer  dey'll  git  dar 
fust.  I'll  take  Sam  and  de  boys  to  help  me  dar, 
and  you,  Mas'  Onderdonk,  and  Csesar  kin  stay  at 
de  house  and  take  kar  ob  old  missus  and  Miss 
Katharine." 

After  making  this  disposition  of  his  garrison, 
George  constituted  himself  a  picket  to  watch  the 
movements  of  the  marauders.  He  placed  himself 
behind  one  of  the  small  outbuildings  north  of  the 
barn  where  he  could  note  the  first  appearance  of 
the  enemy  from  the  direction  they  were  expected 
to  come.  It  was  now  nearly  dark  and  he  had  not 
been  on  guard  more  than  half  an  hour,  when 
through  the  gathering  gloom  he  saw  some  moving 
objects  at  the  edge  of  the  forest.  He  called  Sam's 
attention  to  them  and  while  they  were  trying  to 
ascertain  what  it  meant,  they  were  astonished  at 
the  appearance  of  probably  thirty  well  armed  men, 
approaching  from  a  direction  at  nearly  right  angles 
from  where  the  moving  objects  were  first  seen. 

Black  George,  rifle  in  hand,  stepped  out  from 
the  covering  building  and  called  out  :  "Hi 
dar  !  halt  !  what  you  want  har?  Stop,  right  whar 
you  is!  You  har  me?  Don't  you  come  any 


THE   COWBOY   OF   RAMAPO   VALLEY.  75 

ferder,  or  I'll  let  you  know  what  am  inside  dis 
fowlin'  piece!"  But  they  paid  no  attention  to 
his  command  and  came  on  secure  in  overwhelm- 
ing numbers.  "Take  dat,  den  !  dod  bust  yer  bad 
skins  !  "  shouted  George,  as  he  raised  his  rifle  and 
fired  into  the  crowd.  There  was  a  yell  of  pain 
from  some  one  in  the  gang;  but  on  they  came,  and 
before  the  little  band  of  defenders  could  make  any 
resistance  they  were  overpowered  and  taken 
prisoners. 

After  disposing  of  the  men  and  boys  at  the  barn, 
Claudius,  (who  was  in  command,)  gave  orders  to 
collect  the  horses  and  cattle,  while  himself  and  a 
couple  of  his  men  went  to  the  mansion.  Old 
Martinus,  who  saw  the  folly  of  attempting  to 
make  a  stand  against  such  a  large  force,  was  found 
sitting  on  the  porch.  Katharine  and  her  mother 
were  inside  of  the  house,  and  though  badly 
frightened,  were  attending  to  their  household 
duties.  As  Claudius  approached  the  old  man, 
he  bade  him  good  evening,  and  in  his 
most  suave  tones  asked  after  his  health.  He 
said  he  was  very  sorry  to  inconvenience  him,  but 
that  the  King's  forces  were  in  need  of  provisions 


76  CLAUDIUS, 

of  all  kinds  and  he  was  therefore  under  the  neces- 
sity of  confiscating  his  cattle  and  horses.  "  The 
soldiers  of  the  King  must  be  supplied,"  said  he, 
"and  his  enemies  should  be  compelled  to  bear 
their  share  of  the  burden  !" 

"Claudius,"  said  the  old  man,  "I  know  what 
you  came  for.  I  also  know  that  you  have  the 
power  to  take  what  you  wish;  therefore  make  no 
excuses,  but  admit  honestly  that  you  came  4o  rob 
and  plunder  us,  not  that  you  may  supply  the 
British  army,  but  that  you  mean  to  drive  off  my 
cattle  and  horses  and  sell  them  for  your  own 
benefit." 

"  Well,"  said  Claudius,  "let  it  be  as  you  say  ;  I 
will  not  argue  with  you,  for  argument  is  generally 
unprofitable  and  takes  up  precious  time." 
Just  then  Katharine  appeared  in  the  doorway  and 
was  greeted  by  the  tory  chief  with  a  courteous  sal- 
utation. "  Good  evening,  Katharine  !  I  am  happy 
to  meet  you!"  said  he.  "Shame  upon  you 
Claudius  !  for  what  you  are  doing,"  said  she,  and 
turning  to  her  father  remarked  :  "We  are  being 
stung  by  the  viper  we  have  warmed,  but  we  will 
let  him  know  that,  though  they  may  rob  us  of  our 


THE   COWBOY   OF   RAMAPO   VALLEY.  77 

possessions,  they  can  never  crush  the  spirit  of  the 
true  sons  and  daughters  of  liberty.  You  may  do 
your  worst,  I  only  despise  you  !  "  "I  am  sorry 
you  have  so  bad  an  opinion  of  the  soldiers  of  the 
King,  but  necessity  must  be  our  plea,"  answered 
Claudius. 

Turning  to  his  men  who  had  gathered  in  front 
of  the  house  with  the  cattle  and  horses  belonging 
to  the  Onderdonk  farm,  ready  to  be  driven  away, 
he  said  :  "  Drive  on,  boys  ;  we  have  a  long  way  to 
go  ;  and  seeing  the  night  is  going  to  be  very  dark, 
two  of  you  go  back  and  fire  the  barns  that  we  may 
have  some  light  by  the  way."  In  a  few  moments 
a  bright  blaze  shot  heavenward  and  lit  up  the  sur- 
rounding landscape.  With  a  low  and  courteous 
bow  to  Katharine,  he  mounted  his  horse  and  with 
the  rest  of  his  band  disappeared  in  the  darkness. 

"What  have  they  done  with  George,  and  the 
rest  of  the  boys?"  asked  Katharine,  as  the  flames 
burst  out  anew  from  the  great  Dutch  barn.  "I 
will  go  and  find  out,"  replied  the  old  gentleman  ; 
and  calling  Csesar  they  went  to  the  barn  and  found 
that  George  and  his  companions  had  been  securely 
locked  in  the  granary,  where  they  would  certainly 


jg  CLAUDIUS, 

have  perished  but  for  the  timely    coining  of  their 

liberators. 

"  Oh  dear !  "  groaned  George  as  he  came  out  and 
viewed  the  burning  buildings.  "You  rascal 
tories  !  you'll  hab  ter  pay  fer  dis  night's  work  ! 
Jis  wait  till  Mas'  Retn.  comes  back  and  den  I  guess 
dar'll  be  an  overhaulin'  of  dis  bizness  !  Oh  !  Mas' 
Onderdonk  !  dey  haint  lef '  a  horse  nor  a  cow  on 
de  hull  place.  Dem  tory  debils  done  took  'em  all 
sure  !  Sarten  as  my  name  am  George,  I'll  help  put 
up  de  job  to  make  'em  pay  for  dis  night's  doins !  " 
And  with  many  such  threats  of  vengeance,  the 
poor  negro  sat  down  upon  a  rock  in  the  barn  yard 
and  wept  like  a  child  at  the  destruction  accom- 
plished by  the  outlaws. 

The  horses  and  cattle  were  driven  and  sold  to  a 
detachment  of  the  British  army  lying  at  a  point 
about  three  miles  north  of  Tappau,  in  the  valley 
of  the  Hackensack.  Their  plan  of  dispersing  and 
seeking  their  rendezvous  separately,  after  dispos- 
ing of  their  booty,  made  it  almost  impossible  to 
punish  these  marauders  or  to  intercept  them  while 
on  one  of  their  forays  after  cattle,  as  their  depre- 
dations were  nearly  always  committed  in  the 
night. 


CHAPTER  XL 

The  winter  of  1778  was  really  the  most  gloomy 
period  of  the  war.  Washington,  with  the  main 
body  of  the  American  army  was  encamped  at  Valley 
Forge,  in  the  northeastern  part  of  Pennsylvania. 
The  clothing  of  the  men  was  worn  out  and  they 
came  upon  the  parade  ground  with  rags  dangling 
from  their  persons.  The  shoes  of  many  of 'them 
were  gone,  and  the  tracks  made  by  their  bloody 
feet  could  be  seen  on  the  frozen  ground  of  this 
valley  of  despair.  The  continental  paper  money  had 
become  so  much  depreciated  that  even  an  officer's 
pay  would  scarcely  keep  him  in  clothing.  The  win- 
ter was  one  of  the  coldest  ever  experienced  in  that 
latitude,  and  the  condition  of  the  army  on  that  ac- 
count was  worse  than  can  be  described.  To  add 
to  the  miseries  of  destitution  and  nakedness,  sick- 
ness became  prevalent,  and  no  medicines  were  to 
be  had. 

But  through  all  these  adversities  the  fires  of 
patriotism  still  burned  brightly  and  the  spirit  of 


80  CLAUDIUS, 

devotion  to  the  cause  of  liberty  animated  their 
hearts  and  upheld  them  in  the  determination  to 
shake  off  the  British  yoke.  The  picture  of  the 
great  hero  on  his  knees,  amid  these  scenes  of 
suffering  and  wretchedness,  praying  to  the  God  of 
battles  for  the  deliverance  of  his  beloved  country 
from  the  yoke  of  the  oppressor,  was  a  sure  pre- 
cursor of  the  end. 

On  the  6th  day  of  February,  France,  through 
the  influence  of  Benjamin  Franklin,  acknowledged 
the  independence  of  the  United  States,  and  agreed 
to  send  a  fleet  to  their  assistance.  Thus  things 
began  to  look  brighter  as  spring  opened,  and  when, 
on  the  a8th  of  the  following  June,  the  battle  of 
Monmouth  was  fought  and  won  by  the  American 
forces,  the  country  again  became  hopeful. 

Captain  Barent  Van  Houten,  though  acting  as 
one  of  Washington's  aids  while  his  headquarters 
was  at  the  Suffern  mansion,  near  Fort  Sidman,  had 
remained  with  his  company  when  the  Commander- 
in-Chief  went  south  to  Valley  Forge.  The  time 
had  passed  slowly  and  without  much  to  interest 
them,  as  their  only  duty  was  to  guard  the  pass, 
until  the  summer  of  1779,  when  his  company, 


THE   COWBOY   OF    RAMAPO   VALLEY.  8l 

among  others,  was  detached  to  make  part  of  the 
force  of  General  Wayne  to  attack  Stony  Point. 

It  was  a  warm  morning  in  early  July  that 
the  order  came  to  "fall  in,"  and  in  a  short 
time  the  detachment  was  making  its  way  along  the 
old  King's  road,  leading  from  the  point  of  the 
mountain  to  King's  Ferry.  It  was  a  hot  and  dusty 
march  and  quite  a  number  of  the  men  succumbed 
to  the  overpowering  heat. 

At  a  point  some  five  or  six  miles  south  of  their 
destination  they  found  Captain  Rem.  Onderdonk 
and  his  company  of  scouts  awaiting  them.  He  had 
received  orders  to  form  a  junction  with  the  men 
from  Fort  Sidman,  and,  together,  they  took  up  the 
march  toward  the  fort  on  the  Hudson. 

Some  time  had  elapsed  since  Barent  and  Rem.  had 
met,  and  many  things  had  transpired  in  the  old 
neighborhood  which  interested  them  both.  As  they 
journeyed  together  toward  what  might  be  their  final 
destination,  Rem.  told  of  the  destruction  of  the 
barns  on  the  old  farm,  how  the  cowboys  under 
Claudius  had  run  off  the  cattle  and  horses  belong- 
ing to  his  father  and  how  he  would  make  them 


82  CLAUDIUS, 

feel  his  vengeance  if  he  was  spared  long  enough 
to  accomplish  it.  "  Barent,"  said  Rem.,  "  I  shall 
not  rest  until  that  infernal  band  of  thieves  and 
bandits  are  destroyed,  and  if  I  come  safely  through 
the  coming  fight,  I  shall  attend  strictly  to  that 
business  until  it  is  finished.  My  company  was  re- 
inforced for  that  purpose  and  I  scoured  the  moun- 
tain range  from  end  to  end  to  find  them,  but  thus 
far  they  have  eluded  me.  Their  spies  are  located 
in  every  neighborhood  and  in  every  hamlet 
throughout  the  district  ;  but  if  I  once  strike  their 
trail  I  will  not  leave  it  until  I  have  run  them  to 
earth." 

"I  hope  you  may  be  successful,"  returned 
Barent,  "but  you  have  a  cunning  fox  to  deal  with, 
and  I  fear  he  will  give  you  a  long  chase  before  he 
is  caught."  "Well,"  said  Rem.,  "I  shall  not 
leave  a  stone  unturned  to  destroy  them  and  rid  the 
land  of  their  presence,  for  there  is  no  safety  for 
either  age  or  sex  so  long  as  these  scoundrels  are  in 
existence." 

At  the  distance  of  about  a  mile  from  Stony 
Point  the  detachment  was  halted,  and,  through 
the  growing  darkness,  they  saw  approaching 


THE    COWBOY   OF    RAMAPO    VALLEY.  83 

another  body  of  men.  It  was  the  battalion  which 
had  landed  at  Sandy  Beach  on  the  Hudson,  and 
the  two  detachments  meeting  there  were  to  form 
the  attacking  force  under  General  Wayne.  It  was 
now  nearly  dark,  and  while  the  men  stood  at  rest 
in  the  ranks,  the  general  rode  down  the  line  and 
thus  addressed  them  : 

"  I  expect  every  man  to  do  his  duty  !  That  fort 
must  be  taken,  and  not  a  musket  must  be  fired  ! 
Let  every  man  draw  the  charge  from  his  piece  and 
be  sure  to  fix  his  bayonet  securely,  for  it  is  only 
with  cold  steel  we  must  capture  it  ! " 

Captain  Rem.  Onderdonk  was  selected  to  lead 
the  forlorn  hope  which  was  to  attack  the  fort  on 
the  west  side  as  a  feint,  while  the  main  body 
should  make  the  attempt  from  the  east,  or  river 
side. 

As  is  well  known,  a  negro  who  knew  the  path, 
led  the  main  body  through  the  marsh  between  the 
river  and  the  bluff  upon  which  the  fort  was 
located.  As  the  men  still  stood  in  the  ranks 
Captain  Rein,  stepped  in  front  of  them  to  call  for 
volunteers  to  form  the  forlorn  hope.  "  I  want,"  said 
he,  "only  such  men  as  fear  God  and  not  man  ! 


84  CLAUDIUS, 

Let  those  who  are  willing  to  volunteer  step 
one  pace  to  the  front ! "  As  one  man,  the  whole 
detachment  advanced  a  step.  Rem.  then  selected 
fifty  men,  and  under  cover  of  the  darkness  imme- 
diately started  for  the  fort. 

The  main  body  followed  until  it  came  to  the  foot 
of  the  promontory  upon  which  the  fort  was  built. 
When  they  arrived  there  they  halted  and  remained 
there  awaiting  the  attack  of  the  forlorn  hope.  All 
at  once  the  rattle  of  musketry  was  heard  on  the 
western  slope  and  the  shouts  of  the  men  as  they 
made  the  attack  ! 

While  this  was  going  on  and  while  the  forlorn 
hope  was  being  mowed  down  like  wheat  before 
the  sickle,  the  main  body  under  the  immediate 
command  of  Mad  Anthony,  was  led  by  the  old 
negro  through  the  morass  and  up  the  narrow  path 
leading  to  the  fort. 

They  had  nearly  gained  the  summit,  when  they 
were  discovered  by  the  garrison  and  a  devastating 
fire  was  poured  into  them.  Almost  at  the  first  fire 
General  Wayne  was  wounded  in  the  head.  ' '  Carry 
me  at  the  head  of  the  column,"  said  the  general. 
His  order  was  obeyed,  and  upon  a  stretcher  he  led 


THE    COWBOY    OF    RAMAPO   VALLEY.  85. 

the  impetuous  charge  of  his  men,  who  with  fixed 
bayonets  carried  everything  before  them. 

It  was  the  work  of  only  a  few  minutes  to  cap- 
ture the  fort,  so  overpowering  was  the  rush  of  the 
Americans.  But  the  forlorn  hope  suffered  fear- 
fully. Of  the  fifty  men  composing  it  only  ten  sur- 
vived ;  but  among  these  was  the  heroic  leader. 
The  British  loss  was  six  hundred  in  killed,  wound- 
ed and  prisoners,  while  the  American  loss  was  only 
one  hundred. 

Captain  Rem.,  whose  attack  and  feint  upon  the 
western  side  of  the  fort  had  contributed  so  much 
to  its  capture,  was  complimented  by  General 
Wayne  for  his  bravery  and  good  conduct  in  lead- 
ing the  forlorn  hope.  A  large  quantity  of  amuni- 
tion  and  military  stores,  of  which  the  x\merican 
army  stood  in  great  need,  were  taken. 

The  fort  was  taken  July  I5th,  and  the  next  day 
about  half  of  the  prisoners,  under  the  escort  of 
Captains  Rem.  and  Barent  with  their  two  com- 
panies, took  the  road  back  to  Fort  Sid  man.  They 
had  got  about  one-half  the  distance  between  the 
two  points  when  night  overtook  them,  and  they 
determined  to  halt  until  daylight.  Their  whole 


86  CLAUDIUS, 

force  consisted  of  only  about  seventy-five  men, 
while  their  prisoners  numbered  more  than  three 
hundred.  They  therefore  took  possession  of  the 
barn  and  outbuildings  belonging  to  the  old  country 
tavern  just  west  of  Coe's  corner  on  the  old  King's 
road,  and  for  safety  locked  the  prisoners  in  them. 
After  placing  a  strong  guard  around  the  buildings 
the  officers  took  lodgings  in  the  tavern  for  the 
night. 

About  2  o'clock  the  next  morning  a  great  com- 
inotion  was  heard  by  the  sentinels  on  guard, 
among  the  prisoners  confined  in  the  barn,  and 
believing  that  they  were  about  to  rise  and  over- 
power them,  they  fired  into  the  barn.  This  firing 
in  the  still  hours  of  the  early  morning,  imme- 
diately aroused  the  officers  and  soldiers  not  on 
duty,  who  rushed  to  the  barn  to  find  that  four  of 
the  prisoners  had  been  killed  and  a  number 
wounded. 

The  cause  of  the  commotion  inside  was  found 
to  have  been  a  quarrel  ending  in  a  knock  down 
fight  among  the  captured  soldiers.  In  the  morn- 
ing the  dead  men  were  buried  behind  the  barn, 
where  their  remains  still  lie  ;  but  their  ghosts 


THE   COWBOY   OF   RAMAPO   VALLEY.  87 

often  (so  the  inhabitants  say)  stalk  abroad  and 
to  this  day  haunt  a  house  which  in  after  years  was 
built  upon  the  site  of  the  old  barn.  After  the 
burial  of  the  dead  prisoners,  they  resumed  their 
march  and  toward  night  of  the  same  day  arrived 
at  Fort  Sidman. 


CHAPTER  XII. 

While  the  events  described  in  the  previous 
chapter  were  passing  in  different  parts  of  the 
land,  a  terrible  and  mysterious  occurrence  took 
place  in  the  Onderdonk  family.  The  morning 
after  the  capture  of  Stony  Point  the  old  man  and 
most  of  the  family  were  about  attending  to  the 
morning's  work  and  preparing  to  rebuild  the 
barns  which  had  been  destroyed  by  the  tories, 
when  the  old  lady  appeared,  and  with  blanched 
face  and  trembling  voice,  asked  whether  any  one 
had  seen  Katharine.  They  all  returned  a  nega- 
tive answer.  She  had  not  been  seen  by  any  of  the 
family  since  the  previous  night,  when  she  had 
bidden  her  parents  good  night  and  retired  to 
her  room. 

A  search  was  immediately  instituted  about  the 
premises,  and  every  member  of  the  family  be- 
gan an  investigation  to  find  the  cause  of  her  dis- 
appearance. No  noises  had  been  heard  and  there 


THE   COWBOY   OF   RAMAPO   VALLEY.  89 

were  no  signs  of  a  struggle  in  her  room,  as  every 
article  of  furniture  therein  was  in  its  place.  Her 
couch  was  undisturbed,  showing  that  it  had  not 
been  occupied  by  her  during  the  night.  Every 
piece  of  woodland,  every  thicket,  and,  in  fact, 
every  place  throughout  the  neighborhood  was 
searched  by  the  family  and  friends  ;  but  at  night- 
fall they  all  returned  to  the  house  unsuccessful. 
She  had  disappeared  completely  and  myteriously 
and  no  one  could  account  for  it. 

Of  course  there  were  suspicions — but  there  was 
really  no  foundation  for  them  until  Black  George 
the  next  morning  reported  that  he  had  found  the 
marks  of  footsteps  in  the  earth  under  the  window 
of  Katharine's  room.  He  insisted  that  they  were 
the  tracks  of  two  large  men,  as  they  were  of  im- 
mense size.  He  immediately  set  out  to  follow  the 
trail  and  only  lost  it  some  distance  in  the  forest 
north  of  the  dwelling.  The  direction  taken  by 
the  men  whose  footsteps  had  been  discovered, 
caused  Katharine's  friends  to  suspect  that  Claudius 
Smith  had  something  to  do  with  her  unaccount- 
able disappearance. 

It  was  well   known  among  them   that  the  tory 


90  CLAUDIUS, 

chief  had  been  a  suitor  for  her  hand  and  that  she 
had  rejected  his  offer  with  disdain  ;  but  they  did 
not  think  it  possible  for  him  to  commit  a  crime  of 
this  kind.  They  knew  his  crafty  and  covetous 
nature,  and  that  he  would  not  hesitate  to  commit 
almost  any  kind  of  depredation  if  he  saw  in  it  any 
financial  gain  for  himself ;  but  they  did  not  dream 
that  Claudius  would  take  so  much  trouble  for 
either  love  or  vengeance's  sake. 

As  might  be  supposed,  her  family,  and  especially 
her  father  and  mother,  were  overcome  and  nearly 
crazed  by  the  occurrence,  and  Black  George,  who 
loved  the  young  misuss,  and  looked  up  to  her  al- 
most as  to  a  superior  being,  was  literally  crushed 
in  spirit  by  the  sad  incident.  He  was  sent  to 
Fort  Sidman  to  inform  Rem.  of  his  sister's  strange 
disappearance,  and  arrived  there  just  as  Rem. 
and  Barent  with  their  companies  had  returned 
from  Stony  Point. 

"Oh  !  Mas'  Rem.,  dis  am  awful  !  My  good- 
ness !  how  kin  I  tell  you  !  Oh  !  it  am  terrible  ! " 
eried  George,  as  he  attempted  to  inform  Rem.  of 
what  had  happened.  "What  ails  you,  George? 
What  causes  you  to  act  in  this  manner,"  said 


THE    COWBOY    OF    RAMAPO    VALLEY.  9 1 

Rem.  "Come,  tell  me  what  brings  you  here? 
How  are  the  folks  at  home?"  asked  he.  "  De 
folks  am  all  well  what  am  home  ;  but  Miss  Kath- 
arine ain't  home  and  we  don't  know  whar  she 
am  gone,"  answered  George.  And  then  he  told 
the  story  to  Rem.  as  best  he  could,  between 
groans  and  threats  of  vengeance  against  her  ab- 
ductors. 

"Can  it  be  possible,"  said  Rem.,  turning  to 
Barent,  who  had  heard  part  of  George's  story, 
"  that  she  has  been  abducted  by  that  infernal 
tory?  I  know  she  disdainfully  and  in  cutting 
words  refused  an  offer  of  his  hand,  but  I  can 
scarcely  believe  that  Claudius,  merely  to  gratify 
his  spite,  would  commit  a  crime  so  detestable  and 
add  another  incentive  to  hunt  him  down  like  a 
dog." 

"  This  is  terrible  !  "  said  Barent,  "and  if  there 
is  anything  I  can  do  to  aid  you  in  this  emergency 
I  wish  you  would  command  me."  "I  do  not 
know  in  what  manner  you  can  assist  me  except 
that  your  better  acquaintance  with  Colonel 
Malcolm,  the  commander  of  this  post,  might  help 
me  to  procure  a  furlough  for  a  few  days,"  answered 


92  CLAUDIUS, 

Rem.  "Come,"  said  Barent,  "we  will  go  to  him 
at  once."  And  together  they  proceeded  to  the 
headquarters  of  the  commander.  Colonel  Malcolm 
forthwith  granted  the  request  and  George  and 
Rem.  immediately  set  out  on  their  journey  home. 

On  their  way  to  the  Ouderdonk  dwelling, 
George  gave  Rem.  all  the  particulars  in  re- 
gard to  the  disappearance  of  his  sister  that  he 
was  possessed  of.  "  Dey  mus'  be  slashin'  big 
fellers  dat  owned  dem  tracks,  fer  you  know,  Mas' 
Rem.,  dat  my  feet  ain't  much  like  a  baby's,  and  I 
do  declar,  dat  bofe  of  mine  could  git  into  one  ob 
dem  tracks,"  said  George,  as  they  journeyed 
along. 

In  due  time  they  arrived  at  the  house  where 
Rem.  found  his  father  and  mother,  bent  under  the 
weight  of  sorrow  that  had  overwhelmed  them  and 
the  whole  household  in  a  state  of  consternation. 
He  consoled  the  old  people  as  well  as  he  could  by 
telling  them  that  he  thought  no  harm  would  come 
to  Katharine,  and  that  in  all  probability  she  would 
be  found  and  returned  to  them  in  safety. 

He  examined  the  ground  around  the  house  and 
with  the  help  of  George  followed  the  trail  made  by 


THE   COWBOY   OF   RAMAPO   VALLEY.  93 

the  abductors  far  into  the  forest  and  made  one  dis- 
covery which  George  had  failed  to  notice.  That 
was  the  place  where  two  horses  had  been  standing, 
as  shown  by  the  ground  being  stamped  over  by  their 
feet.  Here,  no  doubt,  was  the  place  where  Kath- 
erine  had  been  placed  upon  one  of  the  horses  and 
taken  to  some  secure  point  in  the  mountains,  but 
where  that  was,  no  one  thus  far  could  tell. 

After  finding  out  all  he  could  and  encouraging 
the  old  farmer  and  his  wife  to  the  best  of  his 
ability,  Rem.  was  obliged  to  leave  the  old  home 
and  repair  to  the  scene  of  duty.  He  had  intended 
ere  this  to  have  started  on  another  hunt  for  the 
cowboy  band,  but  other  duties  had  kept  him  from 
it,  and  the  state  of  affairs  was  still  such  as  to 
prevent  his  immediate  prosecution  of  that  purpose. 


CHAPTER  XIII. 

The  latter  part  of  the  year  1779  had  been  a 
period  of  gloom  and  misfortune  to  the  American 
arms,  especially  in  the  South,  where,  at  Savannah, 
the  combined  American  and  French  forces  had 
been  repulsed  by  the  British  army  occupying  that 
city. 

Affairs  at  the  North  were  also  in  such  a  condi- 
tion as  to  keep  our  hero  and  his  friend  Barent 
fully  employed  at  Fort  Sidman  and  King's  Ferry, 
and  the  west  bank  of  the  Hudson  which  it  was 
necessary  to  patrol  constantly.  At  this  time,  the 
beginning  of  the  year  1780,  quite  a  large  detach- 
ment of  the  American  army  was  stationed  at 
Tappan,  where  Washington  occupied  the  DeWint 
mansion  as  his  headquarters.  The  old  building 
still  stands,  as  strong  and  substantial  as  ever.  It  is 
built  of  stone  excepting  the  front,  which  is  com- 
posed of  brick  brought  from  Holland,  and  the 
date,  1700,  is  masoned  into  the  front,  where  it  is 
still  as  legible  as  when  placed  there,  one  hundred 
and  ninety-four  years  ago. 


THE   COWBOY   OF   RAMAPO   VALLEY.  95 

Sir  Henry  Clinton,  the  British  commander  at 
New  York,  was  continually  sending  out  bands  of 
tories  and  regulars  to  devastate  the  country  within 
a  radius  of  thirty  miles  of  the  city.  One  of  these 
bands  marched  up  the  Hackensack  Valley,  burning 
the  farm  houses  and,  in  many  instances,  murdering 
old  and  decrepit  men  whose  extreme  age  inca- 
pacitated them  for  military  duty.  This  predatory 
gang  burned  the  settlement  of  Closter  in  New 
Jersey,  and  bayoneted  in  cold  blood  several  Whigs 
who  were  too  old  to  run  away  or  make  any  resist- 
ance. 

About  this  time,  too,  there  was  enacted  a  tragedy 
which  should  have  caused  the  blush  of  shame  to 
mantle  the  cheek  of  every  actor  in  it.  Colonel 
Baylor,  with  part  of  a  troop  of  light  horse,  had 
taken  possession  of  a  barn  for  the  night  in  a 
neighborhood  called  old  Tappan,  about  a  mile  west 
of  Tappan  proper.  While  sleeping,  they  were 
surprised  and  surrounded  by  a  large  detachment 
of  British  and  tories,  under  the  command  of  a 
blood-thirsty  officer  of  the  British  army.  They 
were  so  thoroughly  taken  by  surprise  that  they  did 
not  have  the  opportunity  to  fire  a  shot,  and  sur- 


96  CLAUDIUS, 

rendered  at  discretion.  Instead  of  being  held  as 
prisoners  of  war  the  most  of  them  were  imme- 
diately shot  or  bayoneted.  Every  one  of  them 
would  have  been  butchered  but  for  the  humanity 
of  a  British  officer  who  dared  to  disobey  the  orders 
of  his  commander.  Their  bodies  were  thrown  in- 
to the  vats  of  an  old  tannery  near  by. 

Such  actions  had  the  effect  of  putting  a  more 
malignant  face  on  a  struggle  which  already  had 
begun  to  assume  all  the  horrors  of  civil  strife  ;  and 
it  aroused  the  patriots  to  more  determined  efforts 
and  gave  them  reason  for  retaliation  when  the  oc- 
casion offered. 

The  duties  of  the  revolutionary  scouts  were 
onerous  in  the  extreme.  They  were  expected  to 
patrol  thoroughly  certain  portions  of  the  country, 
intercept  and  repulse,  if  possible,  these  predatory 
bands,  and  report  to  the  headquarters  of  the  com- 
mander of  the  district,  any  movements  of  the 
larger  bodies  of  the  enemy.  They  were  in  fact  the 
police  of  the  time,  protecting  the  non-combatants 
and  circumventing  the  evil  disposed  persons  who 
always,  in  time  of  war,  take  advantage  of  the  condi- 
tion of  the  country  to  prey  upon  their  neighbors. 


THE   COWBOY   OF   RAMAPO   VALLEY.  97 

Thus  we  may  understand  that  Captain  Rem. 
and  his  company  had  enough  to  engage  their  at- 
tention and  to  fully  employ  their  time. 

On  the  evening  Miss  Katharine  Onderdonk  dis- 
appeared she  had  retired  to  her  room  about  eleven 
o'clock.  The  air  was  somewhat  sultry  and  hoi, 
and  sitting  down  at  the  bedside  she  took  up  a 
book  that  was  lying  upon  the  table  and  began  to 
read.  She  had  been  reading  perhaps  half  an  hour 
and  was  just  upon  the  point  of  retiring  when  a 
strong  hand  grasped  her  from  behind  and  a  heavy 
blanket  was  thrown  over  her  head,  completely 
smothering  any  outcry  that  she  might  attempt  to 
make.  She  was  then  lifted  bodily  from  the  chair 
and,  the  window  being  raised  by  some  one  from 
the  outside,  was  placed  gently  upon  her  feet  on 
the  ground.  The  two  men  then  picked  her  up 
and  carried  her,  with  the  blanket  still  about  her, 
until  they  arrived  at  the  edge  of  the  forest  about 
half  a  mile  from  the  house.  They  then  lifted  the 
blanket  from  her,  and  placed  a  heavy  bandage  over 
her  eyes.  "Come,"  said  one  of  the  men,  "it  is 
easier  for  us  that  you  should  walk,  and  it  will  be 
7 


98  CLAUDIUS, 

more  pleasant  for  you  to  keep  quiet  than  to  make 
any  noise."  One  of  the  men  took  her  arm,  and, 
in  the  darkness,  led  her  (she  knew  not  whither)  for  a 
considerable  distance,  and  then  came  to  a  halt.  In 
a  short  time  she  was  lifted  upon  a  horse  in  front 
of  one  of  her  captors,  and  the  word  was  given  to 
proceed. 

On  through  the  forest,  up  the  mountain  side, 
over  rocks  and  through  underbrush,  the  little 
cavalcade  wended  its  way,  until  Katharine  could 
begin  to  distinguish  through  the  bandage  the 
breaking  of  the  day.  Thus  far  she  had  main- 
tained a  strict  silence,  knowing  full  well  the 
futility  of  any  protestation  she  might  make  ;  but 
now  she  asked  what  was  meant  by  their  carrying 
her  off  in  this  manner,  away  from  her  old  and 
infirm  parents,  and  what  evil  thing  she  had 
done  to  be  thus  treated  ? 

The  only  answer  she  received  was  to  be  lifted 
from  the  horse  and  led  down  what  seemed  to  her 
an  almost  endless  stairway.  At  the  bottom  they 
stopped,  a  door  grated  on  its  hinges,  opened,  and 
shut  again,  as  she  was  ushered  into  what  she 
found  to  be  a  subterranean  room  of  about  ten  feet 


THE    COWBOY    OF    RAMAPO    VALLEY.  99 

square.  A  lamp  was  burning  on  a  table  in  the 
centre.  A  lounge,  upholstered  in  damask,  stood 
in  one  corner,  while  in  a  recess  was  a  small 
library  filled  with  books.  The  room  also  con- 
tained three  or  four  chairs. 

Alone,  and  not  knowing  where  she  was,  the 
thoughts  which  came  into  her  mind  were  far  from 
being  of  a  consoling  nature.  She  knew  that  her 
parents  would  be  almost  distracted  by  her  sudden 
and  unaccountable  disappearance  and  that,  at  their 
age,  it  might  have  a  fatal  issue.  But  she  also 
knew  there  was  no  use  in  whining  and  weeping 
over  the  matter,  and  she  therefore  determined  to 
make  the  best  of  her  surroundings  and  wait 
patiently  for  deliverance.  Katharine  was  not  of 
the  whimpering  and  weeping  kind  ;  but  of  that 
nature  which  rises  to  the  occasion  as  the  difficulties 
become  greater,  and  the  obstacles  seem  more  in- 
surmountable. She  saw  no  one  for  some  hours, 
and  then  a  _small  'colored  girl  was  let  in  by  the 
outside  guardian  of  her  prison.  She  carried  some 
refreshments  on  a  server,  which  she  placed  upon 
the  table.  There  were  some  fruit,  a  loaf  of  bread, 
and  a  small  bottle  of  wine.  Though  her  appetite 


100  CLAUDIUS, 

was  not  of  the  best,  she  knew  that  for  the  sake  of 
her  health  and  strength  she  must  eat  and  drink  too. 
She  therefore  ate  of  the  fruit  sparingly  and  drank 
a  small  glass  of  the  wine. 

She  tried  to  find  out  from  the  young  African 
who  had  brought  her  there  and  what  was  the 
cause  of  her  incarceration  ?  But  she  might  just 
as  well  have  interrogated  the  walls  of  the  cavern. 
She  was  either  an  idiot  or  else  had  been  told  to 
keep  her  mouth  closed  and  was  obeying  that  in- 
junction to  the  letter,  for  Katharine  could  not  get 
one  word  from  her,  good  or  bad.  She  therefore 
gave  it  up. 

The  little  girl  had  been  inside  but  a  short  time 
when  a  rap  was  heard  at  the  door,  and  she  grasped 
the  server  and  was  let  out  by  the  unseen  sentinel. 

Several  days  and  nights  must  have  passed  before 
Katharine  saw  any  human  being  except  the  colored 
attendant.  There  was  no  way  of  distinguishing 
day  from  night,  as  no  ray  of  sunshine  ever  pene- 
trated her  gloomy  abode.  This  confinement 
became  very  monotonous,  and,  at  times,  tears  of 
sorrow  for  her  suffering  parents  and  friends  would 
moisten  the  eyes  of  the  captive. 


THE  COWBOY  OF  RAMAPO  VALLEY.      1OI 

The  little  library  was  a  great  relief  to  her  and 
she  spent  most  of  the  time  in  reading  the  books  it 
contained  and  which  had  been  selected  with  great 
good  taste,  comprising  the  best  works  of  the  day 
both  in  fact  and  fiction.  But  her  thoughts  were 
constantly  reverting  to  the  loved  ones  at 
home  who  knew  not  whether  she  was  dead  or 
alive,  and  this  worried  her  more  than  anything 
else. 

It  was  probably  a  week  after  she  had  ar- 
rived there  that  Katharine  heard  a  heavy  footstep 
outside.  The  key  grated  in  the  lock,  the  door 
swung  back  on  its  rusty  hinges,  and  the  tory 
chief  entered  the  room.  He  was  dressed  with 
extra  care.  His  buckskin  breeches  and  leggings 
were  new  and  bright,  a  fine  broadcloth  coat  cov- 
ered his  person,  and  a  broad  silk  crimson  sash  was 
coiled  around  his  waist.  With  a  low  and  courtly 
bow  he  saluted  the  captive  maiden.  Without  return- 
ing his  salutation  she  arose  from  the  chair  upon 
which  she  had  been  sitting  and  fastened  her  eyes 
upon  him  with  a  look  full  of  disdain  and  defiance. 

"My  dear  Miss  Onderdonk,"  said  Claudius,  "I 
am  sorry  to  have  discommoded  you,  but  I  was  com- 


102  CLAUDIUS, 

pelled  to  it,  as  it  was  the  only  way  in  which  I 
could  be  assured  of  your  society  and  be  certain  of 
an  uninterrupted  conversation  with  you.  The 
times  are  uncertain  and  tempestuous,  the  country 
is  overrun  by  armed  bands,  and  so  under  the  cir- 
cumstances, it  was  the  best  I  could  do.  I  hope 
you  will  forgive  me  !  "  "  Claudius  Smith  !  "  said 
she,  "if  manhood  or  honor  had  any  part  in  your 
constitution,  the  blush  of  shame  would  now  man- 
tle your  cheek  !  You  have  used  your  power  to 
carry  off  and  incarcerate  a  defenseless  woman, 
when  you  knew  her  friends,  and  especially  those 
who  are  strong  enough  to  protect  her  were  away, 
fighting  the  battles  of  their  country.  If  you  have 
a  spark  of  honor  left  in  your  heart  you  will  take 
me  from  this  gloomy  cavern  and  let  me  return  to 
my  old  and  decrepit  parents  who  need  my  assist- 
ance every  hour." 

''My  dear  Katharine!"  returned  he,  "  If  I 
should  do  as  you  desire,  I  would  be  deprived  of 
your  sweet  company,  the  enjoyment  of  which  is 
the  one  great  reason  of  your  presence  here  at  this 
moment."  "If,"  replied  she,  "  you  could  under- 
stand the  horror  and  disgust  I  experience  in  your 


THE   COWBOY   OF    RAMAPO   VALLEY.  103 

presence,  bad  as  you  are,  I  believe  you  would  take 
pity  on  me  and  rid  me  of  it  !  " 

These  words  angered  Claudius  so  much  that  he 
forgot  his  usual  cool  and  calculating  manner  ;  and 
rising,  he  stepped  toward  Katharine  as  if  to  lay 
his  hands  upon  her.  Before  he  could  reach  her, 
however,  she  drew  a  small  dagger  from  her  bosom 
and  raising  it  aloft,  said  :  "  Come  one  step  nearer, 
and  I  shall  plunge  this  into  my  heart  !  If  you 
thought  to  wreak  your  vengeance  on  me,  you 
may  ;  but  it  will  be  only  on  my  dead  body  !  The 
daughter  of  a  patriot  and  the  sister  of  one  of  the 
sons  of  liberty,  does  not  fear  death  and  would  em- 
brace it  a  thousand  times,  rather  than  submit  to 
dishonor  !  "  Her  eyes  flashed  fire,  and  her  whole 
demeanor  told  Claudius  that  she  was  not  to  be 
trifled  with.  He  therefore  retreated  to  his  seat 
near  the  door  of  the  cavern.  "Well,"  said  he, 
rising,  "I  will  leave  you  for  the  present,  hoping 
that  at  some  future  time,  you  may  be  in  better 
humor."  "  Go,"  said  she  !  u  your  presence  lends 
an  added  horror  to  this  imprisonment." 

At  a  signal  the  door  opened  and  Claudius  passed 
out  leaving  Katharine  alone,  a  prey  to  her  own 


104  CLAUDIUS, 

bitter  reflections  on  her  present  condition,  and  the 
faint  prospect  of  her  friends  ever  discovering  the 
place  of  her  confinement. 

The  place  where  she  was  imprisoned  was 
situated  in  the  roughest  and  least  frequented  part 
of  the  Ramapo  mountain  range  several  miles  from 
the  big  cavern  where  the  cowboys  had  their  head- 
quarters. One  might  pass  a  thousand  times  within 
a  few  feet  of  the  mouth  of  this  cave  and  not  dis- 
cover it.  It  was  so  completely  hidden  by  bunches 
of  mountain  laurel  which  grew  around  the  en- 
trance that  it  would,  be  a  mere  accident  if  it  was 
found. 

As  Claudius  stepped  out  he  said  to  the  sentinel  : 
"  See  to  it  that  she  is  provided  with  plenty  of  food 
and  look  out  that  no  prowling  mountain  hunter 
discovers  the  place."  "All  right,"  replied  the 
man,  "I  will  be  careful." 

The  tory  chief  struck  off  into  a  mountain  path 
leading  to  the  east.  After  following  it  for  about  a 
quarter  of  a  mile  he  came  to  a  small  log  cabin 
almost  hidden  by  the  dense  foliage  of  beech  and 
hemlock  which  surrounded  it.  As  he  entered  he 
was  greeted  by  an  old  negress  of  perhaps  eighty 
years. 


THE   COWBOY   OF   RAMAPO   VALLEY.  105 

u  Ise  so  glad  you  come,"  said  she,  "Ise  bin 
lookin'  for  you  a  good  while."  "Well,  what  can 
I  do  for  you,  Aunt  Sue?"  said  Claudius,  as  he 
sat  down  upon  the  only  chair  in  the  little  room. 
"I  'spec  a  little  money  will  come  good.  Ise  done 
spent  mos'  all  you  lef '  me  de  udder  time  ;  an'  de 
young  gal  ober  in  de  cave  dar  mus'  hab  something 
to  eat,"  replied  the  aged  African.  "That  is 
right,  Aunt  Sue,"  answered  he,  "  I  want  you  to 
fix  up  things  nicely  for  her  while  she  stays  with 
us,  and  be  sure  to  send  it  to  her  regularly." 
Claudius  took  a  handful  of  coin  from  his  pocket 
and  threw  it  into  the  old  woman's  lap,  saying, 
"There,  aunty,  I  guess  there  will  be  enough  to 
last  until  I  come  again."  "Yes,"  said  she,  "I 
tink  so  ;  and  now  I  mus'  send  de  little  one  off  to 
de  store  agin."  "The  little  one"  spoken  of  by 
the  old  negress  was  the  colored  attendant  of  Kath- 
arine, who  also  lived  with  the  old  woman  in  the 
little  log  house. 

The  tory  captain  now  left  the  cabin  and  took  a 
path  leading  down  the  western  side  of  the  range. 
He  followed  this  path  until  it  brought  him  out  into 
the  Ramapo  valley  about  a  mile  north  of  Man  of  War 


106  CLAUDIUS, 

Rock.  He  then  continued  up  the  valley,  follow- 
ing the  east  bank  of  the  Ramapo  river  for  half  a 
mile  more,  which  brought  him  in  sight  of  his 
father's  tavern,  when  he  came  to  a  halt.  From 
this  point  he  could  get  a  good  view  of  the  premi- 
ses. It  was  some  time  before  he  ventured  further, 
but  when  he  had  satisfied  himself  that  the  coast 
was  clear,  he  took  a  short  cut  across  the  meadow 
and  went  to  the  house'. 

It  had  become  necessary  for  him  to  use  caution 
as  he  had  become  in  a  measure  a  marked  man,  and 
many  were  on  the  lookout  to  capture  him.  His 
many  crimes  and  depredations  (as  noted  before) 
had  aroused  the  country  and  made  it  dangerous  for 
him  to  appear  in  the  settled  portions  of  the  dis- 
trict without  a  sufficient  force  at  his  back  to  pro- 
tect him.  But  on  this  occasion,  being  sure  that 
everything  was  quiet,  he  boldly  entered  his  father's 
house. 

Some  time  had  passed  since  he  had  visited  them 
and  the  old  people  received  him  with  every  appear- 
ance of  joy.  To  tell  the  truth,  and,  as  the  old 
saying  has  it,  "to  give  the  devil  his  due," 
Claudius  had  always  been  to  them  an  affectionate 


THE   COWBOY   OF    RAMAPO   VALLEY.  107 

son.  Though  he  had  committed  many  a  cruel 
deed,  at  heart  he  was  not  one  of  those  who  gloated 
over  and  relished  these  actions.  It  must  be  ad- 
mitted that  circumstances  had  something  to  do 
with  his  bad  reputation,  and  that  if  those  circum- 
stances had  been  different,  Claudius  also  might 
have  led  a  different  life. 

When  the  war  broke  out,  he  was  no  doubt  hon- 
estly in  favor  of  and  an  upholder  of  the  policy  of 
the  King  and  Parliament.  But  being  born  and 
brought  up  in  a  neighborhood  which  happened  to 
be  intensely  patriotic,  and  his  family  being  one 
out  of  a  hundred  to  espouse  the  cause  of  King 
George,  he  and  they,  were  no  doubt  more  or  less 
persecuted  for  opinion's  sake.  His  disposition 
therefore  became  in  a  manner  soured,  and 
he  began  that  predatory  warfare,  which,  in 
after  years,  made  his  name  a  synonym  for  all  that 
was  treacherous  and  cruel. 

Nature  had  not  been  niggardly  in  her  favors  to 
Claudius.  His  frame  was  of  iron,  his  intellect  was 
above  the  average,  and  all  who  knew  him  had  to 
acknowledge  that  his  was  the  perfection  of  manly 
beauty. 


108  CLAUDIUS, 

As  he  entered  the  house  he  met  his  mother  and 
throwing  his  arms  around  her  neck,  imprinted  a 
kiss  upon  her  wrinkled  cheek.  "How  have  you 
fared  this  long  time,  mother?  "  said  he.  "I  have 
often  wished  to  see  you  all,  but  business  has  kept 
me  from  it !"  "  Oh  !  I  have  often  longed  to  see 
you,  my  boy  ;  and  many  a  sleepless  night  have  I 
spent  thinking  of  you  ;  but  I  suppose  you  cannot 
always  come  when  you  would  like  to,"  replied  his 
mother. 

"That  is  true;  business  is  sometimes  impera- 
tive and  must  be  attended  to  when  duty  calls," 
said  Claudius.  "Has  Cobus  been  here  lately?" 
asked  he.  "No,"  answered  his  mother,  "but  we 
are  expecting  him  to-night.  We  heard  from  him 
yesterday,  as  one  of  your  men  passed  here,  and  he 
told  us  he  had  seen  him  near  King's  Ferry  in  the 
morning  and  that  we  might  expect  him  home  to- 
night."' "I  hope  he  will  come,"  said  Claudius, 
"as  I  wish  to  consult  with  him  on  some  important 
business." 

It  was  quite  late  in  the  evening  when  a  rap  was 
heard  at  the  door,  and  on  opening  it  Cobus  walked 
in.  "  Good  evening  all  !  "  said  Cobus,  and  as  he 


THE   COWBOY   OF   RAMAPO   VALLEY.  109 

saw  the  tory  leader,  he  cried  :  "  Hello,  Claudius  ! 
you  here?  So  those  noble  patriots  have  not  yet 
caught  you,  eh?"  "No,"  replied  he,  "not  yet  ; 
though  they  have  given  me  more  than  one  close 
chase  thus  far  I  have  eluded  them." 

After  partaking  of  a  supper  prepared  by  their 
mother,  the  cowboy  chief  and  Cobus  retired  to  an 
inner  room  for  consultation. 

"Cobus,"  said  his  brother,  "you  know  I  sup- 
pose, that  the  Whigs  and  traitors  hereabout,  are 
determined  to  disperse  and  destroy  our  band  at  all 
hazards."  That  arch  traitor  Washington,  it  is 
said,  is  interesting  himself  in  the  matter,  and  has 
given  positive  orders  to  annihilate  us,  no  matter 
what  number  of  men  it  shall  take  or  what  it  may 
cost.  Now,  from  henceforth,  it  stands  us  in  hand 
to  move  with  the  greatest  caution  ;  and  what  we 
do,  mtfst  be  done  with  the  greatest  secrecy.  Thus 
far  we  have  been  very  successful  in  all  our  un- 
dertakings. What  the  future  may  have  in  store  for 
us,  is  hard  to  determine,  but  with  our  tried  and 
true  men  the  bulk  of  whom  have  proved  them- 
selves loyal  to  us  in  many  a  close  and  desperate 
skirmish,  we  ought  to  be  able  to  accomplish  a 


HO  CLAUDIUS, 

great  deal,  not  only  for  ourselves,  but  for  the  cause 
we  have  espoused." 

"Yes,"  answerd  Cobus,  "what  you  say  is  true, 
but  that  love  escapade  of  yours,  I  mean  the  ab- 
duction of  old  Onderdonk's  daughter  has  aroused 
a  bitter  and  desperate  feeling  against  us,  not  only 
in  her  immediate  family,  but  throughout  the 
whole  district  and  her  brother  will  no  doubt,  just 
as  soon  as  his  other  duties  will  permit,  not  leave 
a  stone  unturned  to  find  her  and  take  vengeance 
on  her  captors. 

"They  do  not  know  certainly  who  accomplished 
that  job,"  said  Claudius.  "No,"  said  Cobus, 
"  they  do  not  know,  but  they  have  good  reason  to 
suspect,  for  they  know  that  you  were  one  of  her 
suitors  and  are  really  the  only  one  who  would  dare 
to  abduct  her."  "Well  let  that  pass,"  returned 
Claudius,  "  and  let  them  suspect  whom  they  like. 
I  am  ready  to  take  the  chances  of  their  ven- 
geance." 

"  Cobus,"  said  Claudius,  "  there  lives  about  five 
miles  west  of  the  Hudson,  an  old  and  wealthy 
farmer  by  the  name  of  Van  der  Blum,  who  owns  a 
large  herd  of  cattle,  besides  numerous  horses.  I 


THE   COWBOY   OF    RAMAPO   VALLEY.  Ill 

think  it  is  practicable  for  us  to  make  a  descent  on 
his  premises,  and  capture  them.  I  would  like  to 
have  it  done  without  causing  bloodshed,  but  in 
any  case  we  must  try  to  get  them,  because  it  will 
be  a  very  easy  matter  to  run  them  into  the  British 
lines  and  get  well  paid  for  our  trouble.  The  attack 
must  be  made  at  night  and  then  we  can  get  them  to 
their  destination  before  morning  and  thus  escape 
the  scouting  parties  who  are  watching  every  move- 
ment made." 

Thus  were  these  brothers  in  iniquity  concocting 
another  dastardly  scheme  to  rob  their  neighbors. 


CHAPTER  XIV. 

After  the  abduction  of  Katharine,  Black  George 
was  ill  at  ease.  He  went  about  his  daily  duties  on 
the  farm  with  a  gloomy  countenance  and  at  times 
seemed  so  much  preoccupied  as  not  to  notice  what 
took  place  about  him.  "Mas'  Onderdonk,"  said 
he  one  day,  addressing  the  old  gentleman,  UI 
would  jis  like  ter  go  huntin'  fer  a  spell.  De  work 
on  de  farm  ain't  in  bad  shape  now,  and  my  'pinion 
am  dat  dar  am  some  deer  in  de  mountain  dis  fall 
and  if  you  can  spar  me  dis  nigger  would  jist  like 
to  take  a  trip.  If  you  tink  you  can  say  yes,  I'll 
fix  up  de  ole  rifle  and  git  up  in  de  mornin'  airly 
and  start.". 

George  was  aware  of  his  master's  fondness  for 
venison  and  had  broached  the  subject  by  a  shrewd 
mention  of  that  dainty,  and  he  also  knew  that  the 
loss  of  his  daughter  had  made  the  old  man  more  in- 
dulgent to  those  around  him  than  ever  before.  So 
when  he  received  the  expected  permission  he  im- 
mediately set  about  preparing  for  the  hunt.  He 


THE   COWBOY   OF   RAMAPO   VALLEY.  113 

cleaned  the  old  smooth  bore  rifle,  moulded  some 
bullets  and  was  ready  to  start  by  day  break. 

Black  George,  though  he  had  made  hunting  the 
excuse  for  wishing  a  vacation,  had  other  business 
in  mind  beside  that  ;  and  as  he  journeyed  alone, 
he  thus  communed  with  himself.  "  Dis  nigger  am 
goin'  ter  hunt,  but  not  fer  deer  and  sich  like.  I  is 
tarmined  to  find  out  what  dey've  done  wid  my 
young  missus  if  it  takes  de  hull  week.  Dey've 
got  her  some  whar  in  .dese  mountains,  dat  am 
sartin,  and  I  mus'  lay  some  plan  ter  find  out  whar 
dey've  kep'  her.  De  fust  thing  I  mus'  do  am  ter 
go  an'  see  ole  Aunt  Hester  up  dar  in  Call  Holler. 
Dey  do  say  dat  she  kin  tell  whar  ter  find  whats 
bin  los',  an'  I  belieb  I'll  try  her." 

It  was  toward  evening  when  George  reached 
Call  Hollow  and  came  in  sight  of  the  old  log 
house  and  home  of  Aunt  Hester,  the  fortune  teller. 
He  was,  like  most  of  his  race,  very  supersti- 
tious, and  when  he  knocked  at  the  door,  his  hand 
trembled  with  excitement.  He  had  heard,  as  who 
had  not,  of  the  old  woman's  strange  and  myterious 
power  and  he  looked  upon  her  as  being  something 


114  CLAUDIUS, 

greater  and  several  degrees  higher  than  the  gener- 
ality of  mortals.  George  knocked  several  times 
before  there  was  any  answer,  but  the  door  finally 
opened  slowly,  and  in  a  cracked  voice  the  old 
crone  asked,  what  was  wanted. 

"I'se  come  ter  ask  you  some  questions  about 
something  I'se  los',  "  said  George.  "Come  in 
then,"  said  she.  "But  what  makes  you  think  I 
can  tell  you  where  to  find  what  you  have  lost?" 
"  O,  I  don't  know  edzactly,  but  I  heerd  you 
could,"  replied  George.  "Well,  have  you  any 
money?  for  unless  you  have,  the  secret  cannot  be 
revealed,"  continued  the  old  lady.  This  question 
caused  the  negro  to  wince,  as  he  had  very  little 
money,  and  what  he  did  have,  he  hated  terribly  to 
part  with.  Finally,  after  deep  reflection,  he  ad- 
mitted he  had  a  few  shillings. 

"I  must  have  silver  or  the  charm  will  not 
work,"  said  Aunt  Hester.  "Any  how,  it's  got 
to  be  done,  and  if  I  mus',  den  I  mus,"  said 
George,  as  he  laid  a  silver  shilling  in  her  hand. 
11  Now  sit  down  on  this  chair  and  tell  me  what  you 
have  lost,"  said  she,  as  she  sat  down  opposite  to 
where  George  was  sitting.  He  then  related  to  the 


THE    COWBOY   OF    RAMAPO    VALLEY.  115 

old  fortuneteller  the  story  of  Katharine's  disappear- 
ance and  gave  her  all  the  particulars  he  remem- 
bered of  the  sad  affair,  winding  up  with  the  asser- 
tion :  "  We  can't  find  her  no  whar. " 

Aunt  Hester  sat  for  some  time  as  though  in  deep 
thought.  Her  eyes  were  closed,  and  her  whole  ap- 
pearance seemed  as  one  in  a  trance.  Suddenly  she 
straightened  up,  opened  her  eyes  and  said  :  "She  is 
locked  up  in  a  small  cavern  in  these  mountains. 
Two  men,  obeying  the  orders  of  another,  took  her 
from  her  home  and  carried  her  some  distance  and 
then  placed  her  on  a  horse,  and  before  daybreak, 
shut  her  in  this  cave,  where  she  is  still.  There  is 
a  path,  but  little  used,  that  leads  to  the  top  of  the 
ridge  where  an  old  and  blasted  hemlock  stands  I 
Not  far  from  the  tree,  there  is  a  little  cabin  and 
the  persons  who  live  in  that  can  tell  you  where  she 
is.  Find  that  hemlock  with  a  dead  and  lightning 
splintered  top  and  you  will  not  be  far  from  your 
young  missus." 

This  being  all  the  information  he  could  get 
from  the  old  woman,  George  took  his  departure 
and  went  in  quest  of  the  path  that  led  to  the  old 
tree  at  the  top  of  the  ridge.  He  kept  along  the 


1 1 6  CLAUDIUS, 

base  of  the  mountain,  scanning  closely  everything 
that  looked  like  a  path  in  the  right  direction  until 
it  got  too  dark  to  distinguish  anything.  He  then 
prepared  to  camp  out,  a  not  unusual  thing  for  him 
on  his  hunting  expeditions.  Finding  a  secluded 
place  under  an  overhanging  rock  against  the 
mountain  side,  he  was  soon  sleeping  soundly, 
oblivious  to  all  things  earthly. 

The  next  morning  he  arose  bright  and  early, 
and  after  partaking  of  a  frugal  break  fast  of  bread  and 
cheese  which  he  had  carried  in  his  hunting  pouch, 
he  again  began  his  search.  Still  following  the  moun- 
tain base  toward  the  northeast  he  finally  struck  an 
almost  imperceptable  trail,  which  seemed  to  lead  up 
the  mountain  side  and  toward  a  point  which,  in  his 
own  mind,  he  thought  must  be  the  right  direction. 
Turning  into  it  he  followed  it  for  a  consider- 
able distance  and  until  it  brought  him  out 
upon  a  table  rock  of  some  extent  where  he  could 
get  a  view,  not  only  of  the  country  beneath  him, 
but  also  a  long  stretch  of  the  ridge  above. 

He  stopped  there  to  reconnoitre  and  find  his 
bearings.  Toward  the  south  and  east  the  beauti- 
ful and  fruitful  valleys  of  the  Hackensack  and 


THE   COWBOY   OF    RAMAPO   VALLEY.  1 1/ 

Pascack  stretched  out,  while  toward  the  north  and 
west  his  view  was  limited  by  the  long  range  of  the 
Ramapo  hills  and  the  rugged  peaks  of  Verdritige 
Hook  stretching  almost  from  where  he  stood  to  the 
precipitous  rock  which  juts  far  out  into  the  waters 
of  the  Hudson. 

While  standing  there  his  eyes  wandered  over  the 
range  toward  the  north,  and  he  was  just  about 
starting  on  the  path  again  when  all  at  once 
*he  caught  a  glimpse  of  a  huge  hemlock  whose 
naked  branches  were  outlined  against  the  sky,  far 
up  on  the  summit  of  the  ridge  above  him.  Grasp- 
ing his  rifle  tighter,  and  thinking  of  the  old  for- 
tune teller's  description,  Black  George,  with 
renewed  energy,  continued  the  ascent. 

The  distance  was  greater  than  it  seemed  as  there 
was  more  than  one  intervening  precipice  and 
rocky  gorge  which  it  was  necessary  to  flank  or 
avoid.  But  he  trudged  on,  saying  to  himself  : 
"  Dat  ole  woman  done  tole  de  truth,  I'se  sure  !  Dat 
am  de  tree  wid  de  dead  lims  at  de  top,  de  same  as 
she  tole  me.  Oh  !  lor'  a  massy  !  if  dis  nigger  kin 
only  fine  out  whar  dey  am  keepen  her,  wont  ole 
Mas'  Onderdonk  an'  Captain  Rem.  be  glad  ?  " 


Il8  CLAUDIUS, 

At  last  the  path  brought  him  to  the  summit  and 
very  near  the  great  hemlock.  There  it  stood  just 
as  the  dame  of  Call  Hollow  had  described  it — a 
large  thunder-riven  tree,  whose  topmost  branches 
had  been  blasted  by  the  lightning's  flash,  and  whose 
giant  proportions  made  it  the  monarch  of  the 
mountain.  And  there  also,  not  more  than  a  hun- 
dred yards  from  it,  stood  the  little  cabin,  a 
diminutive  log  house,  which  George  recognized  at 
once,  from  the  description  given  by  Aunt  Hester. 

He  kept  back  out  of  sight  as  much  as  possible, 
in  the  thick  undergrowth  of  the  forest,  and 
made  up  his  mind  to  watch  the  cabin  and  find  out 
whether  the  occupants  had  any  visitors.  It  was 
nearly  noon  when  he  reached  the  summit  of  the 
mountain  and  he  had  been  concealed  about  an 
hour,  when  from  his  hiding  place  he  saw  a  man 
enter  the  log  house.  He  was  heavily  armed,  and 
dressed  in  half  military  and  half  hunting  costume, 
a  three-cornered  hat,  and  a  buckskin  hunting 
jacket,  and  breeches,  and  a  crimson  scarf  or  sash 
was  wound  around  his  waist.  This  dress  showed 
that  he  belonged  to  some  band  of  irregulars,  who 
fought  on  their  own  hook,  and  was  a  certain  sign, 


THE   COWBOY    OF   RAMAPO   VALLEY.  119 

in  George's  estimation,  that  he  was  one  of  the 
tory  gang  of  Claudius. 

George  continued  to  watch  until  the  man  came 
out  of  the  house,  followed  by  a  little  colored  girl, 
and  together  they  started  in  a  westerly  direction 
from  the  house.  The  girl  had  a  small  basket  in 
her  hand  while  the  man  carried  a  pitcher  of 
water,  or  some  other  liquid.  The  negro  crawled 
out  of  his  hiding  place  and  followed  the  pair  as 
best  he  could  without  being  seen.  He  kept  them 
in  sight  for  about  five  minutes,  when,  in  a  twink- 
ling, they  both  disappeared.  "Well,  now  den! 
don't  dat  beat  all  ?  "  said  George  to  himself.  "Dey 
mus  a  gone  ker  chuck,  into  de  ground  !  But  jis 
wait.  Dis  darkey  am  bound  fer  to  fine  de  hole 
whar  dey  gone  in,  if  it  takes  de  hull  day."  And 
as  he  said  this  he  sat  down  in  a  clump  of  bushes 
to  await  their  reappearance. 

It  was  near  a  bunch  of  laurel  where  he  had  lost 
sight  of  them  and  it  was  this  spot  that  he  kept  his 
eye  upon.  He  did  not  have  long  to  wait,  for  in  a 
few  minutes  a  little  black  head  arose  as  it  were 
from  behind  the  bush  and  its  owner  tripped  lightly 
back  along  the  path  leading  to  the  log  cabin. 


120  CLAUDIUS, 

George  now  determined  to  get  close  enough  to  the 
spot  to  make  sure  what  kind  of  a  place  it  was,  and 
getting  down  on  his  hands  and  knees,  he  crawled 
toward  the  place  as  carefully  as  he  could. 

It  was  sometime  before  he  got  there,  as  he  did 
not  wish  to  be  seen  from  the  cabin,  and  more  than 
that,  he  did  not  know  how  many  more  armed  men 
were  hidden  about.  After  considerable  labor,  he 
reached  the  spot,  and  raising  himself  to  his  feet, 
saw  just  behind  the  laurel  bush  the  entrance  to  the 
cavern.  Quietly  dropping  upon  his  hands  and 
knees  again,  he  crawled  away  as  silently  as  possible, 
and  was  soon  out  of  sight  and  hearing  from  the 
cabin  and  its  inmates. 

"Oh  glory!"  said  George,  when  he  got  far 
enough  away.  u  I  foun'  de  spot  fer  sartin  !  Dat 
am  de  place  dey've  got  her  shut  in.  An'  if  we 
don't  make  dem  fellers  sorry  fer  dat  job,  den  my 
name  ain't  George."  Occasionally  thinking  aloud 
in  the  manner  noted  above,  he  took  the  shortest 
road  for  home,  and  arrived  there  just  as  darkness 
closed  in  around  the  Onderdonk  homestead. 

Of  course,  his  first  business  was  to  report  what 
he  had.  discovered  to  old  Martinus  and  the  rest  of 


THE   COWBOY   OF   RAMAPO   VALLEY.  121 

the  family,  and  then  to  make  arrangements  to 
inform  Rem.  also.  He  was  believed  to  be  with 
his  company  between  Tappan  and  King's  Ferry 
and  George  was  dispatched  early  the  next  morning 
to  find  him,  and  tell  the  good  news. 

The  discovery  George  had  made  in  the  moun- 
tains created  quite  a  commotion  in  the  neighbor- 
hood, and  several  of  the  inhabitants  volunteered 
to  aid  in  rescuing  Katharine  from  the  power  of 
the  outlaws.  But  as  nearly  all  the  able-bodied 
men  were  enlisted  in  the  service  of  their  country, 
the  main  dependence  must  be  placed  upon  Rem, 
and  such  of  his  company  as  could  be  spared  to 
accompany  him. 

George  found  Rein  on  the  borders  of  Quashpeake 
Lake,  and  most  of  his  company  scattered  along 
that  part  of  the  Hudson  immediately  east  of  the 
lake.  He  was  highly  elated  when  he  heard  George 
relate  what  he  had  discovered,  and  though <  he  was 
not  entirely  certain  that  the  person  imprisoned  in 
the  cavern -was  his  sister,  he  had  good  reason  to 
believe  it  to  be  she.  "In  any  case,"  said  Rem, 
"they  have  some  one  shut  up  there,  and  it  is  our 
duty  to  liberate  whoever  it  may  be." 


122  CLAUDIUS, 

He  gathered  about  him  a  dozen  or  more  of  his 
men,  and  leaving  Dirck  in  command  of  the  re- 
mainder, started  forthwith  for  the  mountains.  By 
a  forced  march  they  arrived  the  next  night  at  the 
foot  of  the  hills  where  the  path  discovered  by 
George  led  up  to  the  summit  They  halted  here 
temporarily,  to  give  the  men  a  rest.  When  dark- 
ness had  fairly  set  in,  George,  at  the  command  of 
Rem,  took  the  lead,  and  with  the  rest  following  in 
single  file  began  the  ascent.  In  silence,  each  man 
following  in  the  footsteps  of  the  other,  they  slowly 
and  cautiously  wended  their  way  to  the  summit 
and  arrived  at  the  foot  of  the  blasted  hemlock  near 
midnight.  There  they  remained  until  daylight 
began  to  streak  the  eastern  sky,  when,  still  led  by 
the  faithful  negro,  they  quietly  surrounded  the 
mouth  of  the  cavern.  So  silently  had  they  come 
thai  even  the  sentinel  had  not  discovered  their 
presence. 

At  a  motion  from  Rem.  the  men  brought  their 
rifles  to  a  present,  and  while  thus  prepared  he 
picked  up  a  fragment  of  rock  and  threw  it  into  the 
entrance  to  the  cavern.  It  could  be  heard  tumbling 


THE   COWBOY   OF   RAMAPO   VALLEY.  123 

from  one  rocky  step  to  another,  until  it  landed  at 
the  bottom. 

At  once  a  noise  as  of  startled  footsteps  was  heard, 
and  up  rushed  the  sentinel,  (who  no  doubt  had 
been  quietly  sleeping),  only  to  look  into  the  muz- 
zles of  a  dozen  rifles,  held  dangeronsly  near  his 
head.  "Surrender  !"  shouted  Rem,  in  a  voice 
that  resounded  through  the  rocky  ravines  and  came 
echoing  back  in  a  hundred  different  tones.  The 
sentinel  seeing  there  was  no  help  for  it  quietly  de- 
livered his  rifle  and  other  arms,  and  was  placed  in 
charge  of  two  of  the  company.  "Hand  over  the  key 
to  this  infernal  hole  in  the  rocks  !"  demanded 
Rem  ;  "that  I  may  set  at  liberty  whoever  is  con- 
fined therein  !  " 

Taking  the  key,  and  followed  closely  by  Black 
George,  Rem.  led  the  way  down  the  incline  to  the 
doorway  of  the  prison.  Unlocking  the  heavy  door 
which  guarded  the  entrance,  he  swung  it  back,  and 
stepped  into  the  room.  There  sat  Katharine,  near 
a  table  and  in  an  attitude  of  defiance  as  though  she 
expected  to  again  meet  her  persecutor.  She  was 
completely  dazed  and  for  a  moment  seemed  almost 
struck  dumb. 


I24  CLAUDIUS, 

"My  dear  sister!"  cried  Rem,  "do  you  not 
know  me  ?  "  As  he  said  this,  she  sprang  into  his 
arms.  "  Oh  Rein  !"  was  all  she  could  utter,  as 
her  head  dropped  upon  his  shoulders,  and  she 
burst  into  tears  !  "  Oh  Rem!  have  you  come  at 
last?  I  have  looked  for  you  so  long  !"  said  she 
as  she  still  clung  about  his  neck.  "  Yes,  my  dear 
Katharine,  I  have  come  to  set  you  free,  but  we  all 
have  this  faithful  friend  to  thank  for  finding  out 
where  you  were  confined."  Thus  saying,  he  pushed 
George  forward  into  the  light.  "  But  for  his  perse- 
vering shrewdness,  we  might  never  have  found 
you."  "Why,  George,  how  can  I  ever  thank 
you  enough  or  repay  you  for  this?"  said  Kath- 
arine. "You  paid  me  a  hundred  times  fore  now, 
Miss  Katharine,"  replied  he.  "I  is  only  glad  ter 
git  you  out  ob  dis  awful  place."  "  Come,  let  us 
get  away  from  this  miserable  hole,"  said  Rem, 
and  taking  his  sister's  arm,  led  her  out  into  the 
free  mountain  air. 

"Oh,  Rem!"  said  she,  "I  feel  as  though  in 
another  world  and  I  do  not  know  how  to  be  grate- 
ful enough  for  getting  me  out  of  that  lonesome  and 
gloomy  place.  Though  I  have  not  been  ill 


THE   COWBOY   OF   RAMAPO   VALLEY.  125 

treated  or  abused  by  my  captors,  still  the  suffering 
in  mind  I  have  endured  through  these  long  and 
dreary  weeks  of  imprisonment,  almost  drove  me 
insane.  The  thought  that  my  friends  were  igno- 
rant of  the  place  of  my  confinement  and  that  the 
chances  of  ever  being  able  to  find  it  were  few  and 
distant,  worried  me  terribly  !  How  are  father  and 
mother,  Rem  ?  Oh  !  I  have  thought  so  much 
about  them,  and  how  they  suffered  in  mind,  on  ac- 
count of  my  absence  that  for  many  nights  I  did 
not  close  my  eyes  to  sleep."  "  Of  course,  they 
were  almost  crazed  at  first,  but  on  account  of  the 
encouragement  of  friends  and  myself,  they  have 
borne  up  under  this  affliction  better  than  could 
have  been  expected,"  replied  Rem. 

The  journey  down  the  mountain  was  very  trying 
to  Katharine,  as  in  her  imprisonment  nearly  all 
exercise  had  been  denied  her  ;  but  the  anticipation 
of  soon  meeting  her  parents  and  friends  again 
nerved  her  for  the  effort  and  when  they  arrived  at 
the  base  of  the  mountain  she  insisted  on  continu- 
ing the  journey  on  foot  to  her  home.  They  there- 
fore continued  on;  and  reached  their  destination 
early  in  the  evening  of  the  same  day. 


126  CLAUDIUS, 

There  was  great  rejoicing  in  the  old  mansion 
where  for  some  time  there  had  been  nothing  but 
bitter  sorrow,  and  the  old  people  seemed  to  take 
on  a  new  lease  of  life  now,  that  their  beloved 
daughter  had  been  returned  to  them,  almost  as 
one  raised  from  the  dead.  Katharine's  bosom 
friend,  Mary  Demaray,  had,  during  the  whole  time 
of  her  absence,  acted  the  part  of  a  daughter  to  the 
old  people.  She  visited  them  daily,  and  by  many 
little  attentions  and  in  every  way  encouraging 
them  by  her  hopeful  and  cheering  conduct  had 
kept  up  their  spirits  under  their  sad  and  terrible 
affliction. 

Leaving  Katharine  at  home  in  the  bosom  of  her 
family  and  among  friends  whose  love  she  prized, 
we  will  follow  Captain  Rem.  on  his  return  to  the 
borders  of  Lake  Quashpeake  near  the  banks  of  the 
Hudson.  Though  it  was  hard  to  break  away  from 
the  joyful  and  reunited  family,  the  call  to  duty  wa  s 
imperative,  and  Rem.  and  his  men  set  out  imme- 
diately for  their  scouting  ground. 


CHAPTER  XV. 

Captain  Rembrandt  Onderdonk  and  his  little 
company  were  on  their  way  to  the  scenes  of  their 
duty  and  had  just  passed  through  a  small  piece  of 
wood  land  and  were  about  to  cross  a  meadow  two 
miles  west  of  their  destination,  when  one  of  his 
men  discovered  a  British  officer  alone  under  a 
tree  on  the  opposite  side.  The  young  scout  who 
had  made  the  discovery  had  recently  purchased  a 
new  rifle  and  had  had  no  opportunity  to  test  its 
qualities  up  to  this  time.  He  therefore  determined 
to  try  it  now.  It  was  a  long  shot,  but  lying  down  on 
the  ground  he  rested  the  piece  over  one  of  the  rails 
of  a  fence  near  by,  and  taking  a  long  and  true 
aim,  fired  !  The  unfortunate  officer  dropped  stone 
dead,  shot  through  the  heart.  He  belonged  to  a 
detachment  lying  just  over  the  ridge  and  near  the 
Hackensack  river. 

It  may  be  said,  and  truely  too,  that  such  actions 
did  not  come  within  the  bounds  of  civilized  war- 
fare, but  the  burning  of  Closter,  the  massacre  of 


!28  CLAUDIUS, 

Colonel  Baylor  and  his  troops  at  Old  Tappan  and 
the  murder  of  many  old  and  decrepit  men  by  the 
tories  and  British  soldiers,  had  aroused  such  a  bit- 
ter and  revengeful  feeling  throughout  the  land 
that  many  things  were  done  now,  and  thought  to 
be  fair  retaliation,  which,  but  for  them,  would  have 
been  condemned  by  all.  After  this  incident  they 
struck  off  to  the  north  for  the  purpose  of  avoiding 
the  British  pickets  who  were  stationed  quite  a  dis- 
tance up  the  Hackensack  valley.  They  had  got 
almost  to  the  end  of  their  journey  when  Captain 
Rem.  was  notified  by  one  of  his  men,  who  had  re- 
mained behind  when  the  expedition  was  sent  to 
liberate  his  sister,  that  the  cowboys  would  that 
night  attack  the  Van  der  Blum  place,  which  was 
located  about  three  miles  west  of  where  they 
were.  The  scout  had  made  the  discovery  while 
patroling  the  country  just  north  of  the  Van  der 
Blum  farm.  He  saw  the  gang,  or  a  part  of  them 
in  concealment  in  a  thicket  about  a  mile  from  the 
place  to  be  attacked,  and  had  overheard  them  dis- 
cussing their  plans. 

Captain  Onderdonk  immediately  determined  to 
frustrate  their  designs  if  possible.      For  that  pur- 


THE   COWBOY   OF   RAMAPO   VALLEY.  129 

pose  he  gave  orders  to  his  men  to  proceed  to  the 
place  separately  and  to  keep  under  cover  as  much  as 
they  could.  They  all  got  there  unseen  by  every 
one  except  the  family.  The  old  fanner  was 
highly  pleased  to  receive  such  a  reinforcement  at 
such  a  critical  time,  and  treated  the  men  to  every- 
thing the  place  afforded.  The  scouts  were 
secreted  in  the  dwelling  and  in  a  short  time  were 
prepared  to  receive  the  marauders. 

Just  as  the  last  ray  of  daylight  disappeared  in 
the  west,  the  cowboys  emerged  from  the  forest 
about  a  quarter  of  a  mile  north  of  the  house. 
About  half  of  them,  obeying  the  orders  of  their 
leader,  proceeded  to  collect  the  herd  of  some 
twenty  cattle  which  were  pasturing  in  the 
meadows  between  the  woodland  and  the  barns, 
while  the  other  half  came  directly  to  the  barn. 
Without  pretending  to  ask  the  consent  of  the 
owner,  they  went  into  the  barn  and  in  a  very  short 
time  brought  out  the  horses,  tethered  them  to- 
gether, and  were  ready  to  move  away. 

They  had  just  passed  the  house,  believing 
themselves  secure '  from  interruption  by  the  old 
9 


130  CLAUDIUS, 

couple  and  the  few  female  servants  they  knew  to 
be  in  their  employ,  not  even  taking  the  trouble  to 
investigate  whether  there  might  not  be  some  others 
there,  when  into  their  rear  was  poured  a  withering 
fire,  which  either  killed  or  wounded  nearly  half  of 
the  band.  Before  they  recovered  from  their 
astonishment,  Rem.  and  his  men  rushed  out,  and 
before  the  cowboys  could  rally  and  return  the  fire, 
another  volley  was  sent  into  their  ranks. 

"Now  for  them  !"  cried  Rem,  as  he  ordered 
his  men  to  use  the  bayonet !  "Give  it  to  them 
boys!"  And  with  a  rush  they  were  upon  them 
with  the  naked  steel.  The  cowboys  could  not 
stand  before  this  onslaught,  and  took  to  their 
heels,  except  those  who  were  too  badly  wounded 
or  lay  dead  upon  the  ground.  As  they  were  run- 
ning away,  several  of  them  turned  and  fired,  but 
with  little  effect,  as  only  one  of  the  defenders  was 
wounded. 

During  the  fray,  Rem.  hunted  for  Claudius  with 
the  savageness  of  a  tiger  after  its  prey,  but  he  was 
not  to  be  found  as  the  expedition  was  commanded 
by  his  brother  Cobus.  Having  left  their  dead  and 
wounded  on  the  ground,  it  became  the  duty  of 


THE   COWBOY    OF   RAMAPO   VALLEY.  131 

Rem.  and  his  men  to  bury  the  dead  and  to  care 
for  those  who  had  received  injuries.  The  wounded 
men  had  their  wounds  dressed,  and  the  next  morn- 
ing the  dead  (five  in  number)  were  buried  at  the 
edge  of  the  forest.  The  wounded,  to  the  number 
of  four,  were  left  at  the  farm  house  in  charge  of  four 
of  Rem's  company  until  they  were  strong  enough 
to  be  disposed  of  as  prisoners. 

After  attending  to  this  part  of  the  business  the 
remainder  of  the  company  left  for  the  lake.  This 
fortunate  intervention  of  Captain  Onderdonk  and 
his  scouts  saved  the  old  farmer  an  amount  of  pro- 
perty whose  loss  would  have  seriously  crippled  him 
for  years,  and  he  gratefully  acknowledged  his 
indebtedness  to  the  scouts  for  their  opportune 
arrival  on  the  scene. 


CHAPTER  XVI. 

The  war,  which  had  been  dragging  along  for 
nearly  five  years,  was  still  being  prosecuted  with 
varying  success  by  both  sides.  At  times,  the  King's 
forces  were  successful  and  everything  looked  dark 
for  the  patriot  cause,  and  then  again  the  American 
arms  would  triumph,  and  cause  rejoicing  through- 
out the  land,  and  a  consequent  depression  in  the 
feelings  of  those  who  sympathized  with  the  King 
and  Parliament. 

One  of  the  most  depressing  and  terrible  blows 
the  cause  of  liberty  had  yet  received,  occurred  dur- 
ing the  latter  part  of  this  year  1780.  General 
Arnold,  through  interceding  with  Washington, 
had  obtained  the  command  of  the  fortress  at  West 
Point  on  the  Hudson,  at  that  time  the  most  im- 
portant post  in  America.  He  then  proposed  to 
Sir  Henry  Clinton,  the  British  commander  at  New 
York,  to  surrender  the  post  and  Major  John  Andre, 
132 


THE   COWBOY   OF   RAMAPO   VALLEY.  133 

the  Adjutant  General  of  the  British  army,  was  sent 
to  confer  with  him  on  that  subject.  He  ascended 
the  river  in  the  Vulture,  an  English  sloop  of  war, 
landed  near  West  Point,  and  at  midnight  met  and 
had  a  conference  with  the  traitor,  at  what  has 
since  been  designated  as  the  Treason  House  near 
the  village  of  Haverstraw  and  which  was  then 
owned  by  one  Joshua  Hett  Smith. 

Andre's  intention  was,  after  the  conference  was 
ended,  to  again  board  the  Vulture  and  return  in  her 
to  New  York.  But  while  he  was  on  shore  Captain 
Onderdonk's  company  of  scouts  which  was  patrol- 
ling the  west  bank  of  the  Hudson  at  that  point, 
opened  fire  on  the  vessel,  and  she  dropped  down 
the  river.  Morning  dawned  before  they  had  com- 
pleted their  plans  and  Andre  was  left  within  the 
American  lines.  He  then  determined  to  cross  the 
river  and  return  to  New  York  that  way.  He  reached 
Tarrytown  in  safety,  but  there  he  was  arrested  by 
three  militiamen  named  Paulding,  Williams  and 
Van  Wart,  who  searched  him,  and  finding  papers 
on  his  person  which  led  them  to  believe  he  was  a 
spy  they  took  him  to  the  nearest  military  post. 
Though  he  attempted  to  bribe  them  in  every  way, 


iM*~ 

134  CLAUDIUS, 

these  incorruptible  patriots,  though  poor  and 
needy,  refused  his  offer,  and  conducted  him  to 
Colonel  Jamison. 

Andre  was  finally  taken  across  the  river  to  Tap- 
pan  and  there  imprisoned  in  the  Yost  Mabie 
house,  since  known  as  the  Seventy-six  House,  un- 
til he  could  be  tried  as  a  spy.  Captain  Barent  Van 
Houten  and  his  company,  after  the  capture  of 
Stony  Point,  had  been  on  duty  at  Fort  Sidman  and 
the  different  fortifications  in  Ramapo  Pass,  but 
were  now  ordered  to  Tappan  to  act  as  a  guard 
around  the  prison  of  Major  Andre.  On  their  way 
there  they  stopped  at  the  Van  Houton  home  for  a 
rest.  Old  Rulof  received  them  with  gladness,  and 
set  before  them  everything  in  the  shape  of  refresh- 
ments that  the  house  afforded. 

While  in  the  old  neighborhood  Barent  took  ad- 
vantage of  the  occasion  to  call  upon  his  betrothed. 
He  found  Mary  in  a  cheerful  mood,  as  her  particu- 
lar friend  Katharine  Onderdonk  had  just  been 
rescued  from  the  tory  gang  of  Claudius,  and  the 
great  rejoicing  in  the  neighborhood  on  account  of 
that  event  made  his  visit  there  a  pleasant  occasion. 

In    the    afternoon    Barent    and    Mary,    together 


THE   COWBOY   OF    RAMAPO   VALLEY.  135 

with  Lieutenant  Bertholf  of  his  company,  made  a 
call  at  the  Onderdonk  mansion.  They  found  the 
family  in  good  spirits.  The  new  barns  and  out- 
buildings replacing  those  burned  by  the  cowboys 
were  about  completed,  and  to  cap  the  climax  of 
their  joys,  their  only  daughter  was  in  their  midst 
once  more.  The  afternoon  was  one  of  the  love- 
liest of  the  season,  and  the  clear  bracing  Septem- 
ber air  was  most  invigorating. 

The  young  Lieutenant  with  Katharine  on  his 
arm,  and  Barent  and  his  betrothed  following, 
spent  the  afternoon  in  rambling  through  the 
orchards  and  about  the  farm,  and  enjoyed  the 
balmy  weather  and  the  society  of  one  another  to 
the  fullest  extent.  The  early  frost  had  painted 
the  mountains  with  all  the  colors  of  the  rainbow. 
The  crimson  of  the  maple,  the  russet  brown  of  the 
oak,  the  scarlet  and  purple  of  the  sumac, 
together  with  the  dark  green  of  the  laurel  and 
hemlock,  made  it  a  fairy  scene  far  beyond  descrip- 
tion or  the  power  of  the  most  cunning  artist's 
pencil. 

By  the  time  they  arrived  from  their  ramble  in 
the  fields,  Barent  and  Mary  noticed  that  Lieuten- 


136  CLAUDIUS, 

ant  Bertholf  was  in  great  danger  of  being  captured 
and  made  a  prisoner  by  the  intelligent  conversa- 
tion and  captivating  manners  of  the  lovely  sister  of 
Captain  Rein.  It  was  also  apparent  that  Kath- 
arine seemed  to  enjoy  the  society  of  the  young 
lieutenant  immensely. 

Lieutenant  Henry  Bertholf  came  of  a  solid  old 
Dutch  family  from  beyond  the  mountains  in  this 
same  county  of  Orange,  a  family  whose  name  had 
been  associated  with  and  was  prominent  among 
the  early  settlers  of  that  part  of  the  Province  of 
New  York.  In  the  early  part  of  the  war  he,  as 
well  as  all  the  other  members  of  the  family,  had 
espoused  the  cause  of  the  Colonies  and  had,  since 
then,  taken  an  active  part  in  the  struggle.  Henry 
had  walked  down  to  Fort  Sidman  and  enlisted  as 
a  private,  but  by  good  conduct  and  especially  by 
great  bravery  shown  in  the  desperate  attack  on, 
and  capture  of  the  fort  at  Stony  Point,  he  had 
been  promoted  to  a  lieutenancy.  He  was  about 
the  medium  height,  straight  as  an  arrow,  with 
deep-set  flashing  gray  eyes  overhung  by  a  broad 
and  intellectual  brow.  He  certainly  had  no  reason 


THE   COWBOY   OF   RAMAPO   VALLEY.  137 

to  quarrel  with  dame  nature  in  regard  to  his  per- 
sonal appearance. 

But  this  dalliance  with  love  and  beauty  could 
not  continue,  so  after  taking  leave  of  the  old  folks 
and  bidding  a  sweet  good  bye  to  the  young  ladies, 
Barent  and  the  young  lieutenant  took  their  de- 
parture and  at  the  head  of  their  company  con- 
tinued the  march  to  Tappan. 

They  arrived  there  near  noon  of  the  next  day, 
went  into  camp  and  part  of  their  men  were  imme- 
diately detailed  to  guard  the  unfortunate  young 
officer  confined  in  the  old  stone  tavern.  The  cap- 
ture of  Major  Andre  and  the  opportune  arrival  of 
Washington  at  West  Point  saved  the  post  from  fall- 
ing into  the  hands  of  the  British;  but  Arnold  being 
apprised  through  the  stupidity  of  Colonel  Jamison, 
escaped,  eventually  got  on  board  of  the  Vulture 
and  lived  to  reap  the  base  reward  of  his  treachery 
— a  commission  as  Colonel  in  the  British  army 
and  the  sum  of  six  thousand  three  hundred  and 
fifteen  pounds  sterling. 

Washington  appointed  a  board  of  fourteen  mili- 
tary officers  to  try  Andre,  who,  after  hearing  his 
confession,  (for  he  was  too  conscientious  to  deny 


138  CLAUDIUS, 

the  part  he  had  taken  in  the  matter),  unani- 
mously convicted  him  of  being  a  spy,  and,  accord- 
ing to  the  law  of  nations,  condemned  him  to 
death  upon  the  scaffold.  During  his  confinement 
he  won  the  love  and  respect  of  all  whose  duties 
brought  them  near  his  person  and  especially  of 
Captain  Barent  Van  Houten  and  the  officers  and 
men  of  his  company  who  had  been  detailed  to 
guard  his  prison. 

It  was  on  the  morning  of  the  2d  of  October, 
1780,  when  the  beating  of  the  reveille  awoke  the 
soldiers  of  the  guard  at  Tappan  and  ushered  in  the 
day  of  doom  for  Major  John  Andre,  the  British 
spy.  The  sun  rose  in  all  the  glory  of  an  October 
morning,  and  its  first  rays,  as  they  glinted  over  the 
rocky  barrier  of  the  Palisades,  penetrated  through 
the  iron  bars  and  lighted  up  the  cell  of  the  doomed 
man.  There  was  scarcely  one  who  knew  him 
who  did  not  deprecate  the  stern  necessity  of  war 
and  wish  it  could  be  otherwise  in  his  case.  The 
doom  of  a  spy  is  death,  and  every  soldier  knows 
it  ;  and  when  he  ventures  within  the  enemy's 
lines  he  is  certain  of  the  penalty  if  taken.  But  if 
some  mercy  had  been  shown  to  Captain  Nathan 


THE  COWBOY  OF  RAMAPO  VALLEY.     139 

Hale,  who  knows  whether  Major  John  Andre 
might  not  have  been  spared  ? 

Washington  offered  to  exchange  Andre  for 
Arnold  but  Sir  Henry  Clinton  refused.  He  even 
set  a  plan  on  foot  to  capture  the  arch  traitor  that 
he  might  have  an  excuse  to  pardon  Andre,  but 
this  plan  miscarried,  and  Sergeant  John  Champe, 
in  consequence,  served  a  hard  apprenticeship  in 
the  British  army  for  his  daring  attempt  to  capture 
the  traitor. 

Andre  had  petitioned  Washington  to  be  shot  as 
a  soldier  instead  of  being  hung  like  a  common 
criminal.  The  Commander-in-Chief,  moved  by 
his  appeal,  presented  the  request  to  his  officers, 
but  it  was  refused.  Finding  that  there  was  no 
alternative,  he  became  submissive  to  his  fate  and 
calmly  prepared  for  death. 

Captain  Van  Houten's  company  was  ordered 
under  arms  and  formed  in  front  of  the  prison. 
Lieutenant  Bertholf  entered  the  old  tavern,  and 
proceeding  to  the  room  in  which  he  was  confined, 
informed  Andre  that  the  hour  for  his  execution 
had  arrived.  He  had  already  prepared  himself 
for  the  summons  and  said  he  was  ready  for  the 


140  CLAUDIUS, 

ordeal.  The  lieutenant  escorted  him  to  the  front 
of  the  building  where  the  soldiers  were  in  line, 
ready  for  the  march  to  the  gallows.  This  had 
been  erected  on  the  hill  west  of  the  little  village, 
probably  a  quarter  of  a  mile  distant.  Placing  him 
between  two  ranks  of  soldiers  the  order  was  given 
to  advance  ;  and  he  began  his  last  journey  on 
earth,  which  was  to  end  at  the  scaffold. 

Solemnly,  and  with  muffled  drums  beating,  the 
detachment  wended  its  way  up  the  hill.  Lieu- 
tenant Bertholf  walked  by  his  side  the  whole  dis- 
tance and  the  only  complaint  he  made  was  as  to 
the  manner  of  his  death.  "  I  had  hoped  to  die  the 
death  of  a  soldier,"  said  he,  "but  the  fortunes  of 
war  have  denied  me  that  boon,  and  I  must  be  con- 
tent !  " 

Arriving  at  the  gallows  the  company  formed  a 
hollow  square  about  it.  The  condemned  man 
was  placed  in  a  wagon  and  when  the  word  was 
given,  it  was  drawn  from  beneath  him  and  the 
victim  was  left  dangling  in  the  air. 

Thus  perished  as  a  spy  Major  John  Andre,  Adju- 
tant-General of  the  British  army,  who  under  other, 
and  more  favorable  circumstances,  might  have 


THE   COWBOY   OF   RAMAPO   VALLEY.  141 

lived  to  be  an  ornament  to  his  country.  Through 
the  infamy  and  base  treachery  of  one  who  had 
been  honored  and  confided  in  by  the  nation  this 
noble  young  man  died  a  shameful  death  on  the 
gallows. 

He  was  buried  near  the  spot  where  he  was  exe- 
cuted and  his  remains  rested  there  until  1821, 
when,  by  the  orders  of  the  Duke  of  York,  his 
body  was  disinterred  and  carried  to  England,  and 
his  remains  now  repose  in  Westminster  Abbey, 
that  Pantheon  of  England's  honored  dead.  After 
the  execution,  the  company  returned  to  camp  at 
Tappan,  where  Washington  then  had  his  head- 
quarters. 


CHAPTER  XVII. 

Upon  the  highest  point  of  Tome  mountain,  the 
loftiest  peak  of  the  Ramapo  range,  and  which 
overlooks  the  valley  of  the  Ramapo  for  many 
miles,  might  have  been  seen  on  a  pleasant  morning 
in  October,  1780,  a  man  with  a  small  field  glass 
closely  scanning  the  valley  around  Fort  Sidman. 
He  seemed  to  be  intently  watching  something  that 
was  taking  place  in  the  immediate  vicinity  of  the 
fort.  After  looking  through  the  glass  for  some 
minutes,  he  turned  and  said  to  a  companion  who 
was  sitting  on  the  branching  roots  of  a  huge  elm 
a  short  distance  behind  him  :  "  Cobus,  there  is 
a  great  commotion  at  the  fort,  and  from  what  I  can 
observe,  it  looks  as  though  an  expedition  is  being 
fitted  out  for  some  purpose.  Take  a  look  through 
the  glass,  and  see  what  you  can  make  of  it  !  " 

After  looking  through  the  glass  Cobus  replied  : 
"Yes,  there  appears  to  be  something  more  than 
common  going  on,  and  I  think,  with  you,  that  a 
142 


THE   COWBOY   OF   RAMAPO   VALLEY.  143 

body  of  soldiers  is  about  to  move  from  the  fort. 
Yes,  now  I  see  them  moving  and  I  believe  they 
mean  to  march  south.  Look  for  yourself,  Claudius, 
and  see  if  it  is  not  so?" 

Claudius,  for  it  was  none  other,  took  the  glass 
from  his  brother's  hand,  and  looked  steadily 
through  it  for  some  time.  As  he  lowered  it  he 
replied:  "Yes,  they  are  moving  south,  and  I 
have  no  doubt  are  bound  for  the  Jersies.  Well, 
let  them  go  and  it  may  be  that  some  of  them  will 
never  get  back,  for  I  think  there  will  be  some 
warm  work  in  that  direction  before  long."  "At 
any  rate,"  said  Cobus,  "they  are  not  moving  in  the 
direction  to  give  us  any  trouble,  and  that  is  some 
satisfaction." 

"That  is  true,"  remarked  Claudius,  "and 
while  the  garrison  here  is  only  strong  enough  to 
man  the  works  and  protect  the  Pass>  we  can  do 
some  profitable  business  for  ourselves."  "There 
is  only  one  party  we  have  to  fear  and  that  is  the 
company  of  scouts  under  that  infernal  Rem. 
Onderdonk,"  said  Cobus.  "You  are  right  there," 
said  his  brother,  "  they  are  more  troublesome  to 
us  than  the  whole  rebel  army  combined." 


144  CLAUDIUS, 

From  the  summit  of  Tome  mountain,  where 
these  two  worthies  stood,  could  be  had  one  of  the 
finest  views  of  mountain,  valley  and  woodland  to 
be  found  in  the  country.  To  the  north  could  be 
seen  the  two  mountain  ranges  that  bound  the  valley 
on  either  side,  until  they  slope  down  to  the  fertile 
fields  in  the  far  distance.  To  the  south  the  eye 
took  in  the  level  lowlands  and  gently  rolling  hills 
of  the  whole  stretch  of  country  almost  to  the  city 
of  New  York.  To  the  east  might  be  seen  the 
rugged  peaks  of  Verdrietige  Hook  and  the  entire 
County  of  Orange  south  of  the  mountains,  bounded 
only  by  the  Highlands  of  the  Hudson  and  the  hills 
of  Westchester  ;  while  beneath  through  the  whole 
length  of  the  valley  glided  the  silver  waters  of  the 
Ramapo. 

To  the  lover  of  nature  in  her  different  moods, 
here  was  a  study  of  wondrous  diversity  and 
beauty ;  but  whether  these  two  brothers  either 
realized  or  enjoyed  this  grand  scenery  is  beyond 
our  ken. 

"  Come  Cobus,  let  us  find  the  boys  and  see  what 
arrangement  can  be  made,"  said  Claudius,  as  he 
turned  and  took  the  path  down  the  mountain  to 
the  north,  followed  by  Cobus. 


THE   COWBOY   OF   RAMAPO   VALLEY.  145 

In  a  small  and  secluded  valley,  about  a  mile 
north  of  Torne  mountain,  were  gathered  a  band 
of  about  twenty  men.  They  were  dressed  in  a 
diversity  of  costumes  and  all  were  armed  with 
rifles  which  were  stacked  conveniently  around  the 
camp.  They  seemed  to  have  nothing  particular 
to  do,  but  were  lounging  about  in  all  sorts  of 
positions.  Some  were  enjoying  their  pipes,  some 
roasting  meat  over  a  fire,  and  others  were  lying 
down  and  seemed  to  be  sleeping.  But  at  the  same 
time  an  observer  would  have  noticed  that  several 
sentinels  were  stationed  at  proper  distances  about 
the  camp  to  guard  against  any  attempt  at  surpris- 
ing it. 

As  the  reader  has  no  doubt  surmised,  this  was 
the  camp  of  the  cowboys  and  tories  under  the 
command  of  Claudius  Smith. 

A  log  hou'se  of  pretty  fair  size  stood  in  a  clump 
of  evergreen  trees  and  formed  the  neucleus  about 
which  several  shanties  of  smaller  size  were  built. 
It  was  about  the  hour  of  noon  when  Claudius  and 
his  brother  arrived  in  the  camp,  and,  calling  his 


146  CLAUDIUS, 

men  around  him,  laid  before  them  a  scheme  to  rob 
some  farms  north  of  the  mountains. 

"To-night,"  said  he,  "we  will  make  our  way 
through  the  mountains  to  the  north  end  of  the 
valley  and  lie  quiet  there  until  darkness  again 
makes  it  safe  to  get  out  into  the  open  country, 
when,  if  our  plans  do  not  miscarry,  we  can,  with 
ease  and  safety,  run  off  the  large  herd  belonging  to 
old  Gerardus  Bertholf,  who  lives  about  an  hour's 
march  from  the  north  outlet  of  the  Pass.  If  noth- 
ing intervenes  to  prevent  we  can  drive  them  down 
the  north  side  of  the  mountain  as  far  as  Wanaque 
Valley,  and  through  that  to  New  York.  It  is  im- 
possible to  take  the  shorter  way  by  the  Pass  on  ac- 
count of  the  fortifications  and  the  constant  patrol 
of  scouting  parties  through  it." 

"  Prepare  yourselves  for  business  men  and  be 
ready  to  move  at  sun  set,"  said  Claudius,  and 
turning  to  Cobus,  he  continued,  "leave  two  good 
men  to  guard  the  camp  until  we  return." 

There  was  hurry  and  bustle  in  the  camp  of  the 
cowboys.  Knapsacks  were  packed,  arms  were 
cleaned  and  ammunition  prepared,  and  when  the 
sun  disappeared  behind  the  western  hills  they 


THE   COWBOY   OF   RAMAPO   VALLEY.  147 

were  ready  for  the  march.  At  the  word  from 
Claudius  the  cowboys  started,  with  Cobus  in  the 
lead.  He  was  acquainted  with  every  mountain 
path  and  with  almost  every  rock  and  tree  in  the 
range. 

They  got  to  their  destination  about  daybreak, 
and  selecting  a  spot  where  the  foliage  and  under- 
growth were  very  thick,  they  awaited  again  the 
darkness  of  night. 

Claudius  sent  one  of  his  men  out  to  reconnoitre 
and  report.  He  returned  about  noon  and  reported 
that  the  coast  was  clear  and  that  they  would  have 
no  difficulty  in  capturing  the  whole  herd,  as  they 
were  pasturing  in  the  meadow  some  distance  from 
the  house  and  with  no  one  to  guard  them  but  two 
men  and  a  boy.  As  night  set  in  they  started  for 
the  farm  and  in  about  an  hour  arrived  there. 

Quietly  they  gathered  around  the  doomed  herd, 
collecting  them  together  with  as  little  noise  as 
possible.  Just  as  they  thought  they  had  succeeded 
without  alarming  any  of  the  household,  a  dog 
came  out  barking  furiously,  and  making  towards 
them  seemed  determined  to  lay  hold  of  the  first 
one  he  came  to.  This  frightened  one  of  the  latest 


148  CLAUDIUS, 

recruits  of  the  band  and  he  fired  a  pistol  at  the 
dog.  Just  as  he  fired,  Claudius  seized  him  by 
the  throat  and  dashed  him  to  the  ground. 

"What  do  you  mean?"  said  the  chief.  "  But 
for  your  ignorance,  I  would  crush  out  your  mis- 
erable life  !  You  have  brought  the  whole  family 
and  neighborhood  upon  us  !  Get  up  now  and 
fight  for  your  life  !"  said  he,  as  he  lifted  the  man 
to  his  feet  as  though  he  had  been  an  infant. 

Sure  enough  out  came  the  old  man,  rifle  in 
hand,  and  his  two  workmen,  armed  with  hay 
forks.  They  dashed  at  the  first  one  they  saw, 
supposing  the  hen  house  was  being  robbed. 

Claudius  did  not  wish  to  shed  blood  if  it  could 
be  avoided,  but  the  old  farmer  was  so  impetuous 
that,  in  self  defense,  one  of  the  cowboys  was 
compelled  to  fire,  and  down  went  the  man  badly, 
though  not  mortally  wounded.  Seeing  him  fall, 
his  two  workmen  took  to  their  heels  and  escaped 
in  the  darkness. 

Detailing  about  half  the  band  to  drive  the  cat- 
tle ahead,  Claudius,  with  the  other  half  covered 
the  rear,  to  prevent  any  attack  from  that  direction. 


THE   COWBOY    OF    RAMAPO    VALLEY.  149 

Leaving  the  farmer  where  he  fell,  they  hurried 
away  with  their  booty. 

Before  morning  dawned  the  cowboys  with  the 
cattle  were  in  Wauaque  Valley,  where  they  deemed 
themselves  comparatively  secure,  as  many  of  the 
inhabitants  were  sympathizers  with  the  mother 
country.  But  beyond  the  valley  and  on  the  south 
side  of  the  mountains,  the  people  were  in  the  main 
patriotic  and  many  of  the  male  population  were  in 
the  American  army.  It  was  therefore  necessary  to 
use  a  great  deal  of  caution  after  arriving  at  that 
part  of  the  journey,  and  for  that  reason,  when  the 
mouth  of  the  valley  was  reached,  Claudius  gave 
orders  to  halt  and  wait  for  daylight.  ^0,1--?^ 

The  old  farmer,  Gerardus  Bertholf,  though  badly 
wounded,  still  thought  of  recovering  his  property, 
and  when  he' found  that  the  cowboys  had  taken 
his  whole  herd  he  determined  to  circumvent  them, 
if  possible. 

He  therefore  dispatched  one  of  his  men  down 
Ramapo  Valley  for  the  purpose  of  notifying 
Colonel  Malcolm,  the  commander  at  Fort  Sidman. 
When  the  man  arrived  at  the  fort  he  was  taken 
immediately  to  the  commander.  He  told  him 


150  CLAUDIUS, 

that  no  doubt  the  marauders  had  taken  the  road 
through  Wanaque  Valley  for  the  purpose  of  driv- 
ing the  cattle  to  New  York. 

Colonel  Malcolm  saw  that  by  sending  a  com- 
pany of  soldiers  immediately  to  the  -southern 
mouth  of  the  valley,  they  might  intercept  the 
cowboys  before  they  passed  that  spot.  He  there- 
fore dispatched  a  company  of  twenty  men  under  a 
trusty  officer  for  the  purpose. 

They  took  the  road  along  the  base  of  the  eastern 
range  and  arrived  at  the  southern  outlet  before  the 
gang  had  passed.  Concealing  themselves  in  the 
bushes  each  side  of  the  road  they  awaited  their 
approach. 

The  shadows  of  night  had  scarcely  fallen  over 
hill  and  valley  when  the  cowboys  were  heard  com- 
ing down  the  road.  About  half  of  their  men 
acted  as  an  advance  guard  and  preceded  the  herd 
which  were  being  driven  by  the  remainder. 

On  they  came,  thinking  themselves  secure  from 
attack,  until  those  in  front  had  just  passed  the 
place  where  the  soldiers  were  concealed.  Then 
the  order  to  fire  rang  out  upon  the  still  night  air, 
and  caused  them  to  turn  and  look  back.  As  they 


THE   COWBOY   OF    RAMAPO   VALLEY.  151 

did  so  the  report  of  twenty  rifles  startled  the 
echoes  and  the  bullets  crashed  into  their  ranks  ! 
Those  in  the  rear  closed  up  and  awaited  the  onset 
of  the  soldiers.  As  they  rushed  from  the  bushes 
into  the  road  the  remaining  cowboys  returned  the 
fire  so  effectively  that  the  scouts  were  for  a  moment 
staggered.  Rallying  immediately,  however,  they 
charged  with  the  bayonet  directly  among  the 
enemy  ! 

The  noise  and  clatter  of  the  affray  frightened 
the  cattle  and  caused  a  stampede.  Helter  skelter, 
away  they  went  into  the  bushes,  up  the  mountain 
side,  and  out  into  the  open  country,  so  that  in  a 
few  minutes  not  an  animal  was  left  in  the  road. 

The  cowboys  retreated  very  slowly  up  the  valley 
and  those  who  were  not  killed  or  wounded  in 
front,  now  came  back  to  aid  their  comrades. 

As  the  soldiers  were  pursuing  the  rear  guard, 
the  others  coming  up  now,  fired  a  volley  into  their 
ranks  which  almost  threw  them  into  confusion 
again.  But  the  officer  in  command  divided  his 
force,  and,  at  the  head  of  one  part  charged  back 
among  them  !  This  soon  ended  the  fight,  as  the  Cow- 


152  CLAUDIUS, 

boys  fled  into  the  mountains  and  left  the  soldiers 
masters  of  the  field. 

The  extreme  darkness  of  the  night  made  the 
aim  of  the  combatants  uncertain  and  prevented  a 
heavy  loss  of  life  ;  but  as  it  was,  four  of  the 
marauders  were  killed,  and  quite  a  large  number 
wounded — how  many  could  not  be  found  out,  as 
they  carried  them  away  in  their  retreat.  The 
soldiers  had  three  men  killed  and  five  wounded. 

In  the  morning  some  of  the  cattle  .were  col- 
lected, and  on  their  return  to  Fort  Sidman  the 
soldiers  drove  them  back  to  the  Pass,  where  the 
old  farmer  finally  recovered  them.  It  was  after- 
ward learned  that  the  cowboys  gathered  the  rem- 
nant of  the  herd  as  best  they  could  and  finally  got 
them  into  New  York.  But  it  was  a  costly  job  for 
the  tory  gang,  and  the  few  they  eventually  sold 
scarcely  paid  the  expenses  of  the  journey. 

As  we  have  noticed  before,  the  business  of  these 
predatory  bands  was  becoming  unprofitable  and 
very  dangerous  as  the  people  were  on  the  watch 
for  them,  aud  when  they  could  be  located  they 
were  pounced  upon  either  by  the  scouting  parties 
led  by  such  men  as  Captain  Rem.  and  his  brother 


THE   COWBOY   OF   RAMAPO   VALLEY.  153 

Dirck,  or  by  detachments  from   Fort  -Sid man  and 
Tappan. 

Still,  when  they  reached  the  rocky  fastnesses  of 
the  Rainapo  range,  they  were  comparatively 
secure.  They  knew  every  inch  of  the  ground  and 
it  was  nearly  an  impossibility  to  take  them  by 
surprise,  when  they  had  once  reached  these  natural 
strongholds. 

Claudius  had  experienced  a  sad  disappointment 
when  he  visited  the  little  cavern  near  the  old 
hemlock  again  to  find  that  the  bird  had  flown  and 
left  the  cage  empty.  The  sentinel  had  been  taken 
prisoner  and  turned  over  by  Rem.to  the  regulars  at 
Tappan,  so  there  was  no  one  to  tell  the  tale  of 
Katharine's  rescue  but  the  old  negress  and  the 
little  colored  girl  who  occupied  the  log  hut  near 
the  cave. 

By  questioning  them,  Claudius  found  out  that  a 
party  of  armed  men  had  surprised  the  sentinel 
and  taken  Katharine  away  with  them.  Of  course, 
Claudius  was  fully  satisfied  who  had  been  instru- 
mental in  her  rescue,  and  this  knowledge  added 
another  grain  to  the  weight  of  vengeance  he  was 
accumulating  and  laying  up  against  Rem.  This 


I54  CLAUDIUS, 

king  of  the  scouts  had  so  often  stepped  between 
him  and  his  most  cherished  plans,  that  he  now 
hated  him  with  a  perfect  hatred  and  impatiently 
awaited  the  time  when  he  could  wreak  his  ven- 
geance upon  him  to  its  full  satisfaction. 

The  ton-  chief  had  met  with  great  success  at  the 
beginning  of  his  career  and  for  a  time  he  had  sup- 
posed himself  to  be  one  of  fortune's  favored  ones. 
Now,  however,  the  times  were  greatly  changed. 
The  patriot  cause  was  looking  brighter,  and  on 
several  occasions  his  band  had  been  defeated  when 
from  appearances  everything  seemed  favorable  to 
success. 

Oftentimes  when  alone  in  one  of  his  strong- 
holds in  the  mountains  his  thoughts  would  revert 
to  that  dark  and  stormy  night  when  he  visited  the 
fortune  teller  of  Call  Hollow  and  heard  from  her 
lips  that  dire  prophecy  of  what  his  end  would  be. 
In  his  own  mind  he  would  then  think  over  recent 
events,  and  compare  them  with  the  words  of 
the  old  woman  ;  and,  imagining  that  some  por- 
tion of  the  prophecy  had  proved  true,  would  ask 
himself  whether  the  end  might  not  be  the  same  ? 

Then    again,    he    would,    by    an    effort    of    his 


THE   COWBOY   OF    RAMAPO   VALLEY.  155 

strong  will,  throw  all  these  gloomy  forebodings  to 
the  winds,  and  appear  before  his  companions  as 
one  of  the  most  light  hearted  and  careless  of  the 
band.  But  do  what  he  would,  ever  and  anon,  the  old 
hag's  words  would  come  back  to  him  with  increased 
force  and  as  time  went  by  the  effect  of  these  un- 
happy thoughts  was  plainly  discernible.  His  band 
of  reckless  outlaws  had  been  diminishing  for  some 
time  and  recruits  were  few  and  far  between,' 
plainly  showing  to  others,  as  well  as  to  himself, 
that  the  business  was  becoming  unpopular. 

Claudius  had  appeared  as  one  of  the  most  hard- 
ened, and  one  not  likely  to  give  a  thought  to  past 

sins,    vet  now  the  blood  of  his  victims  seemed  a 

• 

heavy  weight  on  his  soul  and  caused  him  many  a 
sleepless  night. 


CHAPTER   XVIII. 

The  year  1780,  had  been  one  of  many  tips 
and  downs  in  the  cause  of  freedom.  In  the 
South,  the  city  of  Charleston  had  surrendered  to 
the  British  ;  the  battle  of  Hanging  Rock  had 
been  won  by  General  Sumter,  and  though  starting 
into  the  fight  with  only  two  rounds  of  ammunition 
for  each  of  his  men,  they  soon  filled  their  cart- 
ridge boxes  from  those  of  the  fleeing  tories. 

Many  times  Marion  and  Sumter  went  into  battle 
with  only  enough  muskets  for  a  portion  of  their 
men,  but  as  some  of  them  fell  either  killed  or 
wounded,  the  remainder  armed  themselves  with 
the  guns  of  their  disabled  comrades  and  continued 
the  fight. 

At  King's  mountain,  the  independent  riflemen, 

each    company    under    its   own    leader,    attacked 

Ferguson,  who  had  been  sent  to  gather  and  rally 

the  tories   of  the    neighborhood,    and   killed   one 

156 


THE   COWBOY   OF   RAMAPO   VALLEY.  157 

hundred  and  fifty  of  his  men,  together  with  their 
leader,  and  took  the  rest  prisoners. 

At  the  battle  of  Cainden  the  patriot  army 
suffered  a  defeat.  It  was  there  that  the  chivalric 
Baron  De  Kalb,  who  commanded  the  Continental 
regulars,  fell  covered  with  wounds  and  glory,  a 
costly  sacrifice  in  the  cause  of  liberty. 

Before  the  battle  began,  he  told  his  brother 
officers  that  he  could  not  depend  upon  the  militia; 
but  that  he  was  too  old  to  run,  and  that  his  Conti- 
nentals would  stand  by  him.  And  so  it  proved  ; 
the  militia  fled  at  the  first  fire,  and  the  brunt  of 
the  battle  fell  upon  the  regulars,  who  fought  until 
they  saw  their  beloved  commander  fall,  pierced 
with  eleven  wounds,  when  they,  too,  retired, 
though  in  good  order. 

But  the  British  loss  in  this  battle  was  heavier 
than  the  American,  and  though  the  patriots  retired 
aud  left  the  British  masters  of  the  field,  the  effect 
was  little  less  injurious  to  them  than  a  defeat. 

About  this  time  there  was  quite  a  large  detach- 
ment of  our  French  allies  stationed  just  south  of 
Rarnapo  Pass,  under  the  command  of  Count 
Rochambeau.  The  French  and  American  officers 


158  CLAUDIUS, 

often  met  at  the  SuflTern  tavern,  owned  by  a  staunch 
old  patriot  named  John  Suffern,  and  used  as  a 
headquarters  by  Washington  when  in  that  neigh- 
borhood. 

At  one  of  these  convivial  meetings,  a  contro- 
versy arose  between  a  young  French  and  American 
officer  which  ended  in  a  challenge  being  given 
by  the  Frenchman  and  accepted  by  the  American. 
They  met  at  a  place  near  the  base  of  Noorde  Kup 
peak,  just  north  of  what  is  called  the  Point  of  the 
Mountain.  At  the  first  fire  the  young  Frenchman 
fell,  mortally  wounded.  He  was  buried  on  the 
banks  of  the  Mahwah.  where  his  remains  still  lie, 
far  from  his  native  land  and  the  loved  ones  at 
home. 

Fortunate  it  is  that,  since  that  day  su.ch  dis- 
tressing incidents  have  become  less  frequent  and 
such  false  ideas  of  honor  more  unpopular  in 
our  glorious  land. 

Here  too,  in  the  Sufiern  home,  was  often  seen 
Colonel  Aaron  Burr,  then  a  dashing  young  officer 
in  the  Continental  army.  It  was  from  this  place 
that  he  rode  many  times  over  to  Paramus  to  visit 
the  beautiful  Theodosia  Prevost,  who  afterwards 


THE    COWBOY    OF    RAMAPO    VALLEY.  159 

became  his  wife.  Even  when  stationed  across 
the  river  in  Westchester,  he  was  attracted  by  her 
magnetic  influence,  and,  calling  a  boat's  crew  and 
with  his  horse  tied  in  the  boat,  he  would  cross  to 
Sneden's  landing  and  ride  from  there  flfteen  miles 
to  Paramus  and  back  again  before  the  first  ray  of 
sunlight  lit  up  the  eastern  horizon. 

All  through  the  war  Burr  served  his  country 
faithfully  :  but  in  after  years,  though  elevated  to 
the  second  place  of  honor  in  the  gift  of  his  fellow 
citizens,  he  let  his  ambitious  designs  and  desire 
for  self  aggrandizement  lead  him  into  a  conspiracy 
to  establish  an  empire  west  of  the  Alleghanies,  of 
which  he  should  be  the  emperor,  or  chief.  For 
this  he  was  arrested  and  tried  at  the  city  of  Rich- 
mond, but  for  want  of  proof  was  finally  released. 
His  after  life,  however,  seemed  embittered  by  this 
failure,  and  when  his  beloved  and  beautiful 
daughter,  Theodosia,  was  lost  at  sea,  he  became 
gloomy  and  despondent  and  in  his  retirement  was 
almost  forgotten  by  his  countrymen. 

It  was  also  near  this  place,  in  the  valley  of  the 
Ramapo,  where  the  great  chain  was  made  which 
was  stretched  across  the  Hudson  at  West  Point  to 


l6o  CLAUDIUS, 

prevent  British  war  vessels  from  ascending  the 
river.  The  remains  of  many  of  those  old  furnaces 
and  forges  where  it  was  made  can  yet  be  seen  dot- 
ting this  historic  valley  throughout  its  whole 
length.  They  are  the  fit  reminders  of  the  indus- 
try and  perseverance  of  our  forefathers,  who  delved 
from  the  surrounding  hills  their  mineral  treasures. 

It  was  at  the  base  of  old  Hooghe  Kup,  that 
grand  sentinel  which  guards  the  southern  outlet  of 
the  valley,  that  in  1715  the  Tuscarora  tribe  of 
Indians  rested  for  some  lime,  on  their  journey  from 
their  seat  in  North  Carolina,  to  join  their  relatives 
the  Iroquois.  or  Five  Nations,  in  Central  New 
York. 

Here  in  the  mountains  which  bound  the  western 
side  of  the  Pass,  may  yet  be  found  a  mixture  of 
that  race.  Of  course  they  have  been  mixed  with 
white  and  negro  blood,  but  some  specimens  may 
still  be  found  of  that  race,  which,  before  the  white 
men  came,  were  the  conquerors  of  almost  half 
the  continent. 

After  remaining  here  for  a  while,  they  took  up 
their  march  and  became  one  of  the  Six  Nations 
which  afterwards  became  the  deadly  enemies  of 


THE   COWBOY   OF   RAMAPO   VALLEY.  l6l 

the  Colonies  in  their  struggle  for  independence. 
For  several  years  they  harassed  our  frontier,  and 
almost  drove  the  white  settlers  from  that  part  of 
the  State.  At  last,  General  Sullivan  was  dis- 
patched with  an  army  to  punish  them.  Near 
where  the  city  of  Elmira  now  stands,  he  met  and 
vanquished  them  and  taught  them  a  lesson  they 
did  not  forget  for  a  generation. 

It  was  this  tradition  among  what  is  left  of  the 
tribe  that  caused  Silas  Mountpleasant,  a  nephew  of 
the  head  chief,  to  wander  back  from  Lake  Erie 
and  pass  the  rest  of  his  life  in  the  shadows  of  the 
Ramapo  range.  For  long  years  he  was  a  well 
known  member  of  the  community  residing  in,  or 
near  the  valley,  remaining  until  consumption, 
that  scourge  of  the  red  man,  ended  his  life  in  the 
house  of  a  great  hearted  neighbor,  who,  for  sev- 
eral years  before  his  death  had  cared  for  him  as  if 
one  of  his  family. 

But  the  red  man's  career  is  almost  ended,  not 
only  in  this  valley,  but  throughout  our  whole 
broad  land  ;  and  it  will  not  be  many  years  before 
they,  like  the  bison  of  their  plains,  will  be  among 
the  things  which  are  not.  u 


CHAPTER  XIX. 

The  great  struggle  for  Independence  was  slowly 
drawing  to  a  close  and  the  battles  between  the  op- 
posing forces,  this  year,  (1781)  were  in  almost 
every  instance  favorable  to  the  American  arms. 
Though  the  traitor  Arnold  had  done  some  mis- 
chief in  the  burning  of  the  city  of  Richmond, 
and  some  other  less  important  places,  yet  at  Cow- 
pe.ns,  Guilford  Court  House,  and  Eutaw,  the 
patriots  more  than  held  their  own. 

Washington,  with  a  large  part  of  the  army, 
together  with  our  French  allies,  making  a  feint  as 
though  intending  to  attack  New  York,  had 
marched  from  Newburgh  on  the  Hudson,  and 
when  within  a  short  distance  of  that  city  swerved 
aside,  and,  by  forced  marches  night  and  day,  in- 
vested Cornwallis  at  Yorktown. 

Captain  Barent  Van  Houten  and  his  command 
had  been  ordered  to  join  the  army  on  its  march 
162 


THE    COWBOY    OF    RAMAPO    VALLEY.  163 

through  the  valley  and  were  now  forming  a  part  of 
the  besieging  force. 

So  rapid  had  been  the  movements  of  the  allied 
army,  that  it  was  some  time  before  Sir  Henry  Clin- 
ton discovered  their  purpose  and  they  were  already 
besieging  Cornwallis  when  he  found  that  they  had 
disappeared  from  his  front. 

Clinton  at  once  embarked  with  an  army  of 
seven  thousand  men  to  go  to  the  relief  of  York- 
town,  but  five  days  before  his  arrival  there  Corn- 
wallis had  surrendered  his  whole  army  of  more 
than  seven  thousand  men,  besides  an  immense 
quantity  of  arms  and  military  stores.  Clinton 
therefore  returned  to  New  York,  disappointed  in 
his  expectation  of  raising  the  siege. 

The  surrender  of  Corwallis  and  his  well  equipped 
army  was  the  cause  of  universal  joy  and  rejoicing 
to  the  people  of  the  country  and  nothing  but 
praises  of  Washington  and  La  Fayette,  Rocham- 
beau  and  De  Grasse,  were  heard  throughout  the 
land. 

Soon  after  the  surrender,  the  northern  division 
of  the  army  returned  to  its  old  position  on  the 
Hudson,  which  of  course  brought  Barent  and  his 


164  CLAUDIUS, 

men  back  again  to  Fort  Sidman.  They  were  re- 
ceived with  acclamations  of  delight  on  their  return. 
Bonfires  were  burned  and  signal  lights  blazed 
from  every  mountain  top  between  the  banks  of  the 
Hudson  and  the  Delaware. 

As  the  war  was  now  thought  to  be  nearly  over, 
the  dawn  of  peace  gave  opportunity  to  attend  to 
other  things  nearer  home,  which  had  been  post- 
poned for  the  more  pressing  needs  of  the  country 
at  large.  One  of  these,  and  the  main  one  too,  was 
to  crush  out  and  disperse  the  predatory  bauds  of 
malignant  tories  which  infested^  the  mountain 
region  of  the  southern  part  of  New  York. 

To  do  this  effectually,  the  company  under  the 
command  of  Barent  Van  Houten,  and  the  scouts 
led  by  Captain  Rembrandt  Onderdonk,  were  detail- 
ed for  the  purpose. 

Many  an  effort  had  been  made  before  to  accom- 
plish this,  but  they  had  never  proved  entirely 
successful  and  the  tories  and  cowboys  still  pur- 
sued their  dastardly  vocation  of  robbing  and  mur- 
dering the  unarmed  inhabitants  of  this  district. 
But  now,  a  supreme  effort  to  destroy  them  was  to 
be  made,  and  these  companies  were  selected  on 


THE    COWBOY    OF    RAMAPO   VALLEY.  165 

account  of  their  superior  knowledge  of  the  part 
of  the  country  in  which  they  were  to  operate. 
These  two  officers,  too,  were  thoroughly  ac- 
quainted with  the  ground  and  for  that  reason  were 
well  adapted  to  lead  the  expedition. 

The  urgent  need  of  patrolling  the  banks  of  the 
Hudson  was  now  relaxed,  which  left  Captain  Rem. 
and  his  men  free  to  join  in  this  long  cherished, 
though  often  deferred  plan  to  drive  these  outlaws 
from  their  haunts. 

To  accomplish  this  business  properly,  it  was 
necessary  that  the  two  officers  should  have  a. 
mutual  understanding  of  the  matter. 

Having  been  notified  of  their  selection,  they 
met  and  conferred  in  regard  to  the  plan  to  be 
pursued.  This  conference  was  held  at  the  old 
tavern  at  Coe's  corner,  midway  between  King's 
Ferry  and  Fort  Sidman. 

Captain  Onderdonk  proposed  that  his  company 
should  begin  the  search  at  the  eastern  end  of 
Verdrietige  Hook  mountain  and  scour  every  nook, 
cave  and  valley  in  that  range  and  then  take  in  the 
Kakiatt  and  Cheesecock  hills  toward  the  west, 
while  Captain  Van  Houten  and  his  command 


l66  CLAUDIUS, 

should  start  into  the  mountains  at  Fort  Sidinan 
and  eventually  both  commands  meet  about 
midway  between  the  two  points,  thus  making 
a  sweeping  hunt  and  covering  every  inch  of 
the  ground  for  the  whole  distance. 

This  plan  of  campaign  was  agreed  to  by  Barent 
and  acquiesced  in  by  their  two  lieutenants,  Dirck, 
Captain  Rem's  brother,  and  Bertholf. 

After  talking  over  the  details  of  the  expedition 
more  particularly,  they  separated,  and  repaired  to 
their  respective  camps.  Captaim  Rem.  after 
receiving  special  orders  to  drop  everything  else 
and  hunt  the  cowboys,  sent  to  the  old  place 
for  Black  George  to  join  him  at  King's  Ferry 
and  aid  in  the  grand  search  for  Claudius  and 
his  men. 

This,  of  course,  just  suited  the  faithful  African, 
who  had  been  wishing  for  this  opportunity.  He 
had  made  so  many  terrible  threats  as  to  what  he 
would  do  if  he  could  only  get  another  chance  at 
the  tories  that  the  opportunity  now  offered  to  be 
in  at  the  death  of  the  gang,  made  this  a  red  letter 
day  in  his  existence. 


THE   COWBOY   OF   RAMAPO   VALLEY.  167 

And  certainly  George  was  not  a  mean  recruit, 
for  he  was  so  thoroughly  acquainted  with  almost 
every  mountain  path,  that  in  this  respect  at  least, 
he  was  far  ahead  of  nearly  every  other  member  of 
Captain  Rem's  company. 

UO,  Mas'  Rein!  dis  am  jist  what  Fse  been 
waiten  fer,"  said  he,  when  he  arrived  at  the 
camp.  "  Dis  nigger's  been  waiten' fer  de  time  to 
come  when  we  mus'  git  eben  wid  dat  tory  gang 
an'  make  dem  fellers  sorry  fer  all  de  debbilment 
dey  eber  done  !  Look  out  !  Mas'  Claud,  we  is 
comin'  fer  you  sure  dis  time  !  " 

Leaving  Captain  Rem.  almost  ready  to  begin 
the  campaign  against  the  cowboys  we  will  take 
a  look  at  the  preparations  being  made  at  Fort 
Sidmau  for  the  same  purpose. 

Captain  Van  Houten  and  his  efficient  lieutenant 
began  immediately  on  their  return  to  get  their 
men  ready  for  the  expedition.  Every  rifle  was 
cleaned,  every  cartridge  box  was  replenished,  and 
each  man's  knapsack  was  packed  with  provisions 
for  the  compaign.  Everything  was  put  in  order 
as  though  entering  on  a  regular  campaign  against 
a  powerful  enemy.  The  same  preparation  had 


168  CLAUDIUS, 

been  made  by  the  scouts  at  King's  Ferry,  and 
two  days  after  the  conference  at  Coe's  cornerr 
both  detachments  were  ready  to  enter  the  moun- 
tains. 


CHAPTER  XX. 

As  the  men  under  Captain  Rem.  and  his  brother 
struck  into  the  Verdrietige  Hook  range,  near  the 
borders  of  the  Hudson,  he  said  to  them  : 

"Let  the  search  be  thorough.  Cover  every 
inch  of  the  ground.  Beat  every  bush  and  thicket; 
and  to  him  who  first  discovers  the  whereabouts  of 
Claudius  and  his  band  I  promise  ten  pounds  in 
sterling  silver." 

Captain  Onderdonk  had  a  huge  account  to  settle 
with  the  tory  chief,  a  great  portion  of  which  re- 
mained still  uncancelled  upon  the  debtor  side  of 
the  book.  There  was  the  burning  of  the  barns 
and  outbuildings  on  the  old  place  ;  the  running  off 
of  the  cattle  and  horses  ;  and,  above  all,  and  over- 
shadowing all  the  rest,  was  the  dastardly  abduc- 
tion of  his  sister  Katharine.  At  last  he  hoped  the 
time  had  arrived  to  strike  a  balance  and  close  the 
transactions  between  them. 
169 


jyO  CLAUDIUS, 

Ever  since  the  breaking  out  of  hostilities  Rem. 
had  hoped  to  meet  Claudius  face  to  face  and  settle 
the  score  with  him  personally  ;  but  thus  far  that 
wish  had  been  foiled,  and  they  had  never  met 
since  the  evening  he  saw  him  at  his  father's  house. 
But  now  he  thought  the  opportunity  would  come 
when  that  wish  would  be  gratified,  and  he  impa- 
tiently awaited  the  time. 

There  was  a  large  tract  of  country  to  be  covered 
in  this  search,  and  to  do  it  successfully  required 
considerable  time  and  a  great  deal  of  hard  and 
weary  work.  But  Captain  Rem's  company  was 
used  to  mountain  fighting,  and  inured  to  all  kinds 
of  hardship.  The  men  from  Fort  Sidman  were 
unused  to  mountain  climbing,  and  were  not  so 
well  acquainted  with  the  ground  ;  but  their  hearts 
were  in  the  work,  which  caused  them  to  overcome 
all  obstacles  with  a  determination  that  knew  no 
such  word  as  fail. 

The  ton  sympathizers  of  Claudius  were  now  on 
the  alert,  and  the  expedition  had  scarcely  entered 
the  mountains  before  messengers  had  informed 
him  of  what  was  in  the  wind.  His  first  thought 
was  to  disband  his  gang,  and  thus  escape  the 


THE    COWBOY    OF    RAMAPO    VALLEY.  1 71 

punishment  they  had  so  richly  deserved.  But 
then  he  knew  that  himself,  and  most  of  his  men, 
were  so  well  known  among  the  inhabitants  of  the 
surrounding  district  that  eventually  they  would 
be  taken,  if  only  one  or  two  at  a  time,  and  when 
there  was  no  chance  for  resistance. 

He  therefore  determined  that  in  numbers  there 
was  strength,  and  that  at  some  one  of  the  almost 
impregnable  locations  in  the  mountains  he  would 
make  a  stand  and  fight  it  out  so  long  as  there  was 
a  man  left  to  stand  by  him. 

He,  himself,  and  many  of  his  men.  could  no 
doubt  escape  by  leaving  this  part  of  the  country 
altogether  ;  but  even  in  the  heart  of  an  outlaw 
there  is  love  for  the  place  of  his  birth  and 
the  associations  surrounding  his  earlier  years, 
which,  in  the  most  degraded  and  desperate,  is  hard 
to  eradicate  and  entirely  subdue. 

From  King's  Ferry  Claudius  received  notice 
that  his  old  enemy,  Rem.  Onderdonk,  was  on  the 
war  path  to  hunt  him  down.  He,  Claudius,  was 
not  to  be  frightened,  however,  though  the  whole 
world  was  against  him  ;  and  he  certainly  deserved 
this  credit — that  as  the  difficulties  and  dangers 


I72  CLAUDIUS, 

increased  his  courage  rose  with  the  occasion  and 
made  him  more  determined  than  ever  to  resist 

He  was  born  among  these  hills  ;  his  old  parents 
were  still  living  ;  and  every  object  that  binds  one 
to  his  native  place  was  located  here.  He  knew 
the  ordeal  was  before  him,  and  he  braced  himself 
to  meet  it.  From  boyhood  he  had  roamed  over 
this  wild  and  romantic  district,  free  as  the  moun- 
tain eagle  ;  and  now,  to  think  of  being  driven 
from  all  the  associations  of  his  youth  and  man- 
hood too,  made  him  desperate  and  he  resolved,  if 
necessary,  to  die  in  the  last  ditch. 

Claudius  and  his  brother  met  at  the  old  tavern 
in  the  nook  of  the  mountains  and  there  made 
arrangements  to  gather  the  band  to  defend  what 
they  considered  their  birthright.  Their  men  were 
fighters  every  one,  for  the  weak  ones  had  long 
since  been  weeded  out  to  make  room  for  more 
solid  material,  and  now  the  band  was  composed  of 
the  hardy,  reckless  men  of  the  mountains,  whom 
work  could  not  weary,  nor  danger  intimidate. 

After  remaining  at  their  old  home  for  several 
hours  they  took  leave  of  the  family  and  started 
for  the  camp  of  the  outlaws,  situated,  as  before 


THE   COWBOY   OF   RAMAPO   VALLEY.  173 

shown,  about  a  mile  north  of  Torne  mountain. 
When  they  arrived  there  they  found  nearly  the 
whole  band  had  got  word  of  the  expedition  and 
were  gathered  there  to  await  the  commands  of 
their  leader.  They  placed  implicit  confidence  in 
Claudius  and  recognized  his  superior  intelligence 
and  knowledge.  As  the  two  brothers  entered  the 
camp  the  men  gathered  around  them,  anxious  to 
hear  any  news  they  might  have  to  communicate. 
There  were  some  twenty-five  of  them,  and  every 
man  of  the  number  could  be  depended  upon  in 
almost  any  emergency. 

"Well,  comrades,"  said  the  chief,  "  I  suppose 
you  are  aware  of  the  extraordinary  efforts  that  are 
being  made,  not  only  to  drive  us  out  of  the  coun- 
try, but  to  capture  any  or  all  of  us  and  to  bring  us 
to  trial  on.  charges  of  robbery  and  murder.  We 
have  our  choice  of  three  different  modes  of  action. 
One  is  to  separate  and  scatter  ourselves  over  the 
country  and  run  the  risk  of  being  taken  one  or 
two  at  a  time  and  be  dealt  with  as  these  victorious 
rebels  may  think  best.  Another  is,  to  deliver 
ourselves  up  to  the  authorities  and  supplicate  for 
mercy.  And  then  there  is  another  and  the  last, 


IJ4  CLAUDIUS, 

which  is  to  stand  up  like  men  and  soldiers  and 
fight  it  out  as  long  as  there  is  a  man  of  us  left  to 
handle  a  rifle. 

"I  have  determined  to  leave  it  to  yourselves, 
my  men,  who  have  stood  by  me  all  these  years  in 
fair  weather  and  foul,  in  sunshine  and  in  storm,  in 
the  bloody  fray,  and  on  many  a  weary  night 
march,  to  choose  which  of  the  three  modes  we  had 
better  adopt" 

"  Come,  what  is  your  verdict  ?  "  said  Claudius, 
as  he  finished  speaking. 

"  We  will  fight  it  out  and  die  like  men  rather 
than  run  like  frightened  rabbits,  or  crawl  like 
whipped  curs  to  their  feet  ! "  said  one  and  all,  and 
throwing  their  caps  in  the  air  they  gave  three 
rousing  cheers  that  made  the  mountain  gorges 
ring  again,  and  shook  the  foliage  on  the  trees 
above. 

"They  have  already  begun  the  hunt,"  said 
Claudius.  "  They  are  strong  in  numbers,  and  one 
of  the  parties,  at  least,  is  incited  by  offers  of  re- 
ward to  the  man  who  shall  first  discover  us.  To- 
night we  will  break  camp,  and  try  to  find  a  more 
suitable  place  to  make  a  final  stand  against  these 


THE   COWBOY   OF    RAMAPO    VALLEY.  175 

invaders  of  our  mountain  home."  Turning  to 
Cobus,  he  ordered  him  to  attend  to  getting 
everything  in  readiness  to  move  at  sunset. 

As  soon  as  the  sun  disappeared  behind  Torne 
Mountain  the  cowboys  left  their  old  camping 
ground,  and  under  the  lead  of  Cobus  and  the  chief 
proceeded  through  the  mountains  towards  the  east. 
They  traveled  until  near  midnight  when  Claudius 
called  a  halt  and  told  them  this  was  the  place  he 
had  selected  to  make  a  final  stand  against  their 
enemies. 

The  place  was  well  adapted  to  stand  a  siege,  as 
nature  had  made  it  almost  impregnable.  A  rocky 
gorge  of  many  feet  in  depth  cut  into  the  mountain 
on  the  east.  On  the  south  was  a  huge  precipice, 
the  walls  of  which  rose  nearly  perpendicular  from 
the  base  of  the  hill,  while  on  the  west  was 
another  deep  valley,  down  which  a  mountain  tor- 
rent leaped  in  foamy  rage.  Only  on  the  north 
side  was  it  unprotected  by  nature's  own  handi- 
work ;  but  on  that  side  the  plateau  extended  back 
almost  as  far  as  the  eye  could  reach  and  for  a 
distance  of  more  than  five  hundred  feet  there  was 
scarcely  a  tree  or  bush  to  obstruct  their  view. 


176  CLAUDIUS, 

Enemies  approaching  from  that  direction  would 
have  to  expose  themselves  to  view  for  all  that 
distance,  which  would  give  the  garrison  of  this 
natural  fortress  opportunity  to  pour  a  withering 
fire  into  their  ranks  from  behind  a  breastwork  built 
across  from  gorge  to  chasm. 

In  this  place  the  cowboys  made  their  camp. 
There  was  ample  room  for  tents  and  all  the  camp 
equipment  and  before  another  night's  shadows  had 
darkened  the  surrounding  landscape,  the  fortifica- 
tions were  completed  and  everything  in  readiness 
to  receive  the  enemy. 

It  was  then,  when  all  had  been  done  that  could 
be  done  to  make  the  stronghold  of  the  tories  safe 
against  almost  any  number  that  might  attack  it 
that  they  had  time  to  think  and  meditate  on  what 
might  happen  in  the  near  future  ;  and  Claudius, 
whose  mind  was  ill  at  ease,  was  often  in  deep 
thought. 

One  day  while  they  were  still  waiting  to  hear  of 
the  approach  of  the  force  they  knew  was  being 
sent  against  them  Cobus  thus  addressed  his 
brother,  who  seemed  to  be  in  one  of  his 
melancholy  moods  : 


THE   COWBOY   OF    RAMAPO   VALLEY.  177 

"  What  ails  you,  Claudius?  You  seem  to  be  in 
a  gloomy  state  of  mind  these  days,  in  fact  so  much 
so  that  our  men  have  noticed  it  and  it  is  having  a 
bad  effect  upon  them  !  They  say  your  courage 
must  be  failing,  and  that  you  are  brooding  over 
expected  defeat!" 

"Cobus,"  replied  the  tory  chief,  "do  you  be- 
lieve that  one  human  being  can  look  farther  into 
the  future  than  another?" 

"Well,"  said  Cobus,  "I  have  heard  that  there 
are  persons  who  can  see  into  the  future  and  tell  to 
almost  a  certainty,  what  is  to  befall  another  ;  but 
I  have  had  no  experience  in  that  line  myself  and 
do  not  place  much  confidence  in  such  stories.  But 
why  do  you  ask  me  such  a  question,  Claudius  ?  " 

"  It  was  about  the  beginning  of  the  war,"  replied 
his  brother,  "  that  I  happened  near  Call  Hollow 
(  which  you  know  is  about  midway  between  the 
Pointof  the  Mountain  and  King's  Ferry)  and  visited 
an  old  crone  who  resides  there  in  a  dilapidated  old 
hut  and  got  her  to  tell  my  fortune.  And  to  tell 
you  the  truth,  Cobus,  thus  far  in  my  career,  her 
words  have  come  true  !  It  wras  a  terrible  horoscope 


178  CLAUDIUS, 

she  drew  for  nie  and  if  the  end  should  prove  to  be 
as  she  foretold  then  indeed  am  I  doomed  !  It  was  a 
mere  fit  of  curiosity  which  impelled  me  to  call  on  her 
and  I  never  took  her  prophecy  seriously  ;  but  still, 
when  I  recognize  the  fact  that  a  part  of  it  has 
come  true,  I  cannot  help  but  feel  a  little  anxious 
as  to  whether  the  other  part  of  it  may  not  be  the 
same." 

"Throw  these  gloomy  forebodings  from  your 
mind  and  be  yourself  again  !  Much  depends  upon 
you  in  the  coming  struggle  !"  said  Cobus. 

"  What  you  say  is  true  and  I  will  take  your 
advice,"  replied  the  chief. 


CHAPTER  XXI. 

Captain  Rein,  and  his  company  of  scouts  were 
making  a  thorough  search  for  the  hiding  place  of 
the  cowboys  and  had  covered  the  ground  from 
Verdrietige  Hook  to  the  Kakiatt  Hills  when  one  of 
his  men  came  in  and  announced  that  he  had 
found,  (as  he  described  it),  "  the  nest  of  the  cow- 
boy gang."  He  described  the  place  as  well  as  he 
could  to  Rein,  and  said  they  were  located  on  a 
point  of  the  mountains  that  was  almost  impregna- 
ble by  nature. 

Captain  Onderdonk  and  his  brother  Dirck  knew 
the  spot  well  and  coincided  with  the  report  he 
brought  as  to  its  being  one  of  the  strongest 
natural  fortresses  in  the  whole  Ramapo  range. 
They  knew  that  the  only  way  to  assault  it  success- 
fully would  be  to  attack  the  position  with  a  large 
force  from  two  directions  at  once. 

Nothing  had  been  heard  from  Barent  and  his 
179 


180  CLAUDIUS, 

men  yet,  but  Rem.  supposed  they  must  be  within 
a  very  short  distance  of  where  the  cowboys  were 
stationed.  After  consulting  with  some  of  his 
officers,  Captain  Onderdonk  sent  a  messenger  to 
find  Barent  and  his  men,  if  possible,  and  invite 
him  to  a  conference  before  the  attack  was  made, 
so  that  they  might  have  an  understanding  as  to 
the  manner  in  which  it  should  be  conducted. 

The  messenger  returned  the  next  day  and  re- 
ported that  he  had  found  them  about  three  miles 
west  of  the  tory  stronghold  and  that  Captain  Van 
Houten  would  meet  him  at  a  point  about  half  way 
between  the  two  companies. 

In  accordance  with  this  understanding  the  two 
commanders  met  a  short  distance  from  the  base  of 
the  mountain  and  there  laid  out  the  plan  of 
attack.  The  next  morning  after  the  conference 
they  were  to  march  toward  one  another  and  dis- 
pose their  forces  so  as  to  surround  the  cowboy 
rendezvous  as  nearly  as  possible.  Whichever 
company  got  into  position  first  should  notify  the 
other  by  a  single  rifle  shot. 

It  was  toward  evening  the  next  day  and 
Rem.  and  his  men  were  making  their  way 


THE    COWBOY    OF    RAMAPO    VALLEY.  1 8 1. 

as  well  as  they  could  over  the  rocks  and  through 
bushes  along  the  Summit  of  the  range,  when,  from 
toward  the  west,  came  the  report  of  a  single  rifle 
ringing  through  the  forest,  notifying  him  that 
Barent  and  his  men  were  in  position.  In  a 
short  time  an  answering  report  told  Captain  Van 
Houten  that  the  scouts,  too,  were  in  their 
place. 

The  besiegers  saw  the  difficulties  which  faced  them 
and  were  pretty  well  satisfied  that  the  only  vulnera- 
ble point  of  the  tory  position  was  on  the  north  side,, 
and  that  to  capture  the  place  they  must  make  the 
assault  from  that  direction  and  carry  it  at  the 
point  of  the  bayonet.  But  even  to  attempt  that 
would  incur  a  heavy  loss,  and  many  of  their  men 
who  had  passed  through  the  long  and  weary 
struggle  which  had  about  ended,  safely,  would 
now  be  laid  low  by  the  bullets  of  this  outlawed 
band. 

It  was  the  intention  of  both  commanders  to  cap- 
ture or  destroy  these  marauders  with  as  little  loss 
of  life  on  their  part  as  possible.  But  they  were  in 
a  strong  position,  and  to  carry  it,  there  must 
necessarily  be  some  sacrifices. 


1 82  CLAUDIUS, 

The  fight  began  almost  immediately  after  the 
two  companies  got  into  position,  and  a  continuous 
discharge  of  musketry  was  kept  up  until  night 
closed  in  around  the  combatants.  In  the  evening 
Captain  Barent  and  his  men  met  and  determined 
on  a  plan  of  assault.  This  was  that  Bareut  and  his 
company  should  keep  up  the  fire  from  across  the 
valley  to  the  west,  while  Rem.  and  his  command 
should  clamber  up  the  gorge  on  the  east  side,  gain 
the  plateau  and  just  as  morning  dawned,  charge  the 
breastworks  which  covered  the  position  of  the  cow- 
boys on  the  north. 

Toward  midnight  Captain  Rem.  led  his  men  up 
through  the  rocky  chasm  as  quietly  as  possible. 
Like  beasts  of  prey  stealing  on  their  victims,  the 
scouts  crept  over  the  many  obstructions  in  their 
path,  now  crawling  on  their  knees  through 
the  dense  laurel  bushes  which  grew  along  the 
precipitous  sides  of  the  gorge  and  again 
clambering  over  the  rough  and  scraggy  rocks 
that  lined  the  bottom  of  the  ravine.  They  finally 
reached  the  summit  of  the  plateau  about  an  hour 
before  daybreak. 

It  was  arranged  that  just  as  soon  as  it  was  light 


THE   COWBOY   OF   RAMAPO   VALLEY.  183 

enough  to  see  at  all,  the  company  from  Fort  Sid- 
man  should  begin  firing  and  make  as  great  a 
demonstration  as  possible,  to  attract  the  attention 
of  the  tories,  while  the  scouts,  under  Captain 
Rem,  should  then  charge  the  breastwork  from 
the  north.  They  therefore  lay  on  their  arras 
waiting  for  daybreak.  They  had  gained  the  posi- 
tion without  alarming  the  besieged,  and  were 
ready  to  rush  upon  the  cowboys  at  a  moment's 
notice. 

Just  as  the  first  sign  of  daylight  lit  up  the  east- 
ern sky  a  terrific  discharge  of  fire  arms  greeted  the 
tories  from  across  the  valley  to  the  west.  It  was 
the  signal  for  the  scouts  to  charge  the  fortifica- 
tions, and  as  the  tories  were  in  the  act  of  returning 
the  fire  a  shout  was  heard,  and  as  they  turned  to 
find  out  from  whence  it  came  they  saw  the  whole 
company  with  Captain  Rem.  at  its  head  in  the  act 
of  mounting  the  embankment. 

"  Come  on,  my  men  !  Use  only  cold  steel  !" 
shouted  their  leader,  as  he  sprang  over  the  earth 
works,  followed  by  his  men. 

The  cowboys  were  in  a  measure  surprised  by 
the  sudden  onset,  but  still  they  were  soon  ready  to 


1 84  CLAUDIUS, 

receive  them.  Rem.  raged  through  the  fight 
like  a  demon  and  got  so  far  in  advance  of  his 
men  that,  at  one  time,  he  was  completely  sur- 
rounded by  the  desperate  tories.  But  with 
every  swing  of  his  good  right  arm  a  cowboy 
bit  the  dust,  and  very  soon  he  cleared  a  place 
around  him. 

"At  them,  boys!"  cried  he;  "down  with  the 
abductors  of  women! " 

"It  was  a  bloody  and  terrible  hand  to  hand 
struggle  which  now  ensued.  Man  to  man!  face  to 
face!  they  met,  with  all  the  accumulated  hatred  of 
years  nerving  each  arm  and  inspiring  every  heart. 

Captain  Rem.  hunted  for  the  tory  chief  and  at 
last  saw  him  in  the  act  of  cutting  down  one  of  the 
scouts  whose  valor  had  urged  him  too  far  from  his 
command.  With  one  bound  the  giant  scout  was 
upon  him! 

"I  have  found  you  at  last!"  cried  Rem,  as  he 
grasped  the' tory  leader  by  the  throat  and  hurled 
him  to  the  ground.  But  Claudius,  with  one  over 
powering  effort,  struggled  to  his  feet,  and  with 
intense  hate  flashing  from  his  eyes,  faced  the  scout. 
Both  were  armed  with  heavy  swords,  and  as  they 


THE   COWBOY   OF   RAMAPO   VALLEY.  185 

fought,  and  with  skill  parried  each  other's  blows, 
they  unconsciously  approached  the  precipice  at  the 
south  side  of  the  plateau.  Captain  Rem.  was 
between  it  and  the  cowboy  chief  and  just  in  time 
saw  what  Claudius  meant.  Rushing  forward  he 
grasped  the  tory's  coat,  and,  with  all  the  power  of 
his  strong  arm,  with  a  backward  motion  threw 
him  over  into  the  abyss!  Not  stopping  to  see 
what  became  of  him,  Rem.  joined  his  men  just  as 
the  last  of  the  cowboys  surrendered. 

The  whole  band,  except  three,  were  either 
killed  or  prisoners.  These  three  men,  being  near 
the  breastwork,  when  they  saw  the  folly  of  further 
resistance,  sprang  into  the  forest  and  made  good 
their  escape. 

After  the  battle,  Captain  Rem.  sent  half  a 
dozen  men  to  bring  in  the  body  of  the  tory  chief. 
After  a  long  search  they  returned  with  the  in- 
formation that  it  was  nowhere  to  be  found.  They 
saw  where  he  had  fallen  on  a  ledge,  not  more  than 
ten  feet  from  the  top  ;  and  from  the  broken  twigs 
and  bushes  below,  they  were  sure  he  had  escaped, 
after  all,  by  climbing  down  the  face  of  the  moun- 
tain. 


l86  CLAUDIUS, 

The  destruction  of  the  cowboy  band  was  com- 
plete, even  though  their  leader  had  for  the  present 
saved  himself.  This  gang  of  marauders,  who,  for 
more  than  seven  years  had  been  the  terror  of  the 
district,  were  dispersed  and  scattered  so  thor- 
oughly that  the  prospect  of  their  ever  becoming 
the  cause  of  trouble  again  to  the  inhabitants  of 
this  part  of  the  country,  was  slight  indeed. 

After  dismantling  the  fortifications  erected  by 
the  cowboys  and  collecting  the  booty  found  in 
their  stronghold,  Captains  Barent  and  Rem.  re- 
paired with  their  companies  to  Fort  Sidman. 


CHAPTER  XXII. 

From  the  surrender  of  Cornwallis  to  the  third  of 
September,  1783,  when  the  treaty  of  peace  was 
signed  at  Paris,  the  two  armies  lay  inactive  except 
that  each  held  the  forts  and  cities  they  occupied  at 
the  time.  When  the  news  came  that  the  treaty 
had  been  signed  by  the  representatives  of  the  two 
nations  and  that  Great  Britain  had  recognized  the 
Independence  of  the  United  States,  the  country 
put  on  its  holiday  garb  and  gave  itself  over  to 
rejoicing,  at  this,  the  closing  event  of  the  long  and 
sanguinary  struggle  for  liberty. 

It  was  not  until  the  25th  day  of  November  of 
the  same  year,  that  the  British  army  evacuated 
the  city  of  New  York.  As  the  last  of  the  invaders 
embarked  for  England,  Washington,  at  the  head  of 
his  victorious  army  entered  the  city  amid  the 
acclamations  of  the  citizens,  who  made  it  a  day  of 
rejoicing  and  thanks  to  Almighty  God  for  the 

great  deliverance. 

187 


1 88  CLAUDIUS, 

Shortly  afterward  Washington  repaired  to  An- 
napolis, where  Congress  was  in  session,  and 
formally  resigned  his  commission,  accompanying 
his  act  with  a  short  and  affecting  speech,  in  which 
he  briefly  enumerated  the  chief  events  of  the  war, 
and  commended  his  country  to  the  protection  of 
Heaven. 

This  was  the  last  act  in  the  great  and  bloody 
drama  which  had  ended  in  making  a  free  people 
and  establishing  an  asylum  for  the  oppressed  of  all 
nations.  Since  then,  from  this  western  land  has 
radiated  the  beneficent  and  invigorating  warmth 
of  this  sun  of  liberty,  whose  rays  still  enlighten 
this  glorious  hemisphere  where  freedom  had  its 
birth  place. 

That  Claudius  had  escaped  safe  and  sound  was 
believed  by  Rem,  and  he  felt  that  his  mind  would 
never  be  at  ease  until  that  king  of  the  cowboys 
and  tories  was  brought  to  justice.  It  was  known 
that  the  Smith  family  originally  came  from  Long 
Island  and  thither  Rem.  felt  sure  the  tory  chief 
had  fled.  Cobus  and  two  others  of  the  'band  had 
also  escaped  just  as  the  fight  ended,  and  the 


THE   COWBOY   OF    RAMAPO   VALLEY.  189 

general  opinion  was  that  they  also  were  concealed 
at  the  same  place. 

As  the  war  was  now  over  and  peace  had  been 
proclaimed  throughout  the  land  Rem.  procured  a 
warrant  from  a  civil  magistrate  in  which  Claudius 
a'nd  his  brother  were  charged  with  the  murder  of 
several  citizens  of  the  County  of  Orange.  This 
was  placed  in  the  hands  of  an  officer,  who,  accom- 
panied by  Rem.  and  Dirck,  immediately  proceeded 
to  Long  Island  in  search  of  the  outlaws.  They 
arrived  there  in  due  time,  disguised  as  farm  laborers 
who  were  looking  for  work  among  the  farms  of 
the  Island.  For  some  time  they  could  hear  noth- 
ing of  the  fugitives  and  began  to  think  they  had 
taken  refuge  in  some  other  locality. 

The  part  of  the  island  where  they  were  search- 
ing was  mainly  inhabited  by  royalists,  whose 
sympathies  were  with  the  enemies  of  the  country, 
which  made  it  difficult  to  get  any  information  that 
would  lead  to  the  arrest  of  the  cowboys. 

It  was  probably  a  week  after  their  arrival  be- 
fore they  got  any  knowledge  of  the  hiding  place 
of  the  fugitives.  One  day  as  Rem.  was  listlessly 
wandering  about  he  thought  he  caught  a  glimpse 


190  CLAUDIUS, 

of  Claudius  at  a  farm  house  near  the  little  village 
of  Huntington.  He  reported  what  he  had  dis- 
covered to  Dirck  and  the  officer  and  they 
determined  to  set  a  watch  that  night  upon  the 
premises. 

As  soon  as  twilight  cast  its  uncertain  shadows 
over  the  village  they  repaired  to  the  place  and 
secreted  themselves  where  they  could  see  any  one 
who  might  enter  or  leave  the  suspected  house. 
They  had  been  con'cealed  but  a  short  time  when 
the  door  opened  and  Claudius  stepped  out.  He 
cast  furtive  glances  to  the  right  and  left  and  then 
cautiously  walked  out  upon  the  highway  and 
started  down  the  road  past  where  Rem.  and  his 
party  were  concealed.  He  got  just  opposite  to 
them,  when  all  three  sprung  in  front  of  him.  He 
attempted  to  draw  a  pistol,  but  he  was  already 
covered  by  the  weapons  of  his  captors,  and,  upon 
the  demand  of  the  officer,  surrendered  without 
striking  a  blow. 

The  surprise  was  so  complete  and  sudden  that 
he  had  no  chance  to  resist.  He  was  immediately 
disarmed  and  shackled,  and  then  placed  in  charge 
of  Rem.  and  Dirck. 


THE   COWBOY   OF    RAMAPO    VALLEY.  191 

It  was  now  Rem's  opportunity  to  gloat  over  his 
fallen  enemy,  but  his  soul  revolted  at  the  thought. 
Our  hero  was  made  of  different  stuff,  and  in  his 
heart  he  felt  a  certain  commiseration  for  the  con- 
quered bandit. 

The  next  object  of  the  officer  and  his  com- 
panions was  to  secure  the  other  three  men.  They 
therefore  took  Claudius  to  the  village  jail  where 
he  could  be  kept  safely  until  the  others  were 
captured.  The  attempt  to  get  from  the  tory  chief 
any  information  as  to  the  place  they  were  secreted 
in,  of  course  was  futile.  He  had  too  much  honor 
left  to  divulge  the  place  of  their  concealment  and 
stubbornly  refused  to  tell  anything  that  might 
lead  to  their  arrest. 

They  finally  enlisted  the  services  of  the  local 
officers  of  the  law  in  their  cause,  and  before  a 
week  transpired  all  three  were  captured. 

The  next  object  of  the  captors  was  to  get  their 
prisoners  safely  into  Goshen  jail.  For  that  pur- 
pose, and  to  guard  against  any  attempt  their 
friends  might  make  to  rescue  them,  they  raised  a 
posse  to  accompany  them  on  their  journey  home. 

It  was  a  long  and  dangerous  road  they  had  t© 


192  CLAUDIUS, 

travel  to  reach  their  destination  ;  but  fortune 
favored  them,  and  in  five  days  from  the  time  they 
started  with  their  prisoners  they  arrived  safe  and 
sound  at  the  county  seat  of  Orange,  and  incarce- 
rated this  remnant  of  the  cowboy  band  behind  the 
bars  of  Goshen  jail. 

Here  they  remained  for  several  weeks  while  the 
authorities  were  preparing  for  their  prosecution 
by  collecting  all  the  evidence  possible  from  the 
surrounding  district.  It  was  determined  to  give 
them  a  fair  and  impartial  trial;  and  every  advan- 
tage the  law  allowed  to  persons  charged  with 
crime. 

At  last  the  day  arrived  and  Claudius  and  his 
men  were  arraigned  at  the  bar  of  justice.  When 
the  question  was  put  to  them  as  to  whether  they 
were  guilty  or  not  guilty  each  man  arose  in  his 
place  and  answered  in  the  negative. 

The  trial  proceeded  and  able  counsel  was  em- 
ployed to  defend  the  cowboys  and  Claudius  himself 
was  active  in  their  defense,  often  asking  questions 
and  suggesting  others  to  their  lawyers. 

The  case  dragged  along  for  many  days  and 
caused  a  great  sensation  throughout  the  whole 


THE   COWBOY   OF   RAMAPO   VALLEY.  193 

county  and  even  far  beyond  its  limits.  The 
Court  House  was  packed  with  eager  listeners 
each  day.  Men  from  the  mountains,  from  Long 
Island,  and  members  of  the  families,  some  one 
of  whom  had  suffered  from  the  ruthless  actions  of 
the  band,  were  in  attendance,  anxious  to  see  and 
note  each  phase  of  the  drama  being  enacted  before 
them. 

Finally,  the  time  came  when  the  evidence  both 
for  and  against  was  all  in,  and  the  counsel  were 
ready  to  make  their  pleas  to  the  jury  who  had 
patiently  set  for  many  days  listening  to  the  testi- 
mony. 

The  prosecution  had  succeeded  in  proving  its 
case  against  all  the  prisoners  at  the  bar  and  there 
was  no  doubt  in  the  minds  of  the  spectators  as  to 
their  guilt.  The  jury  retired,  and,  after  deliber- 
ating for  several  hours,  came  into  the  court  and 
returned  a  verdict  of  "guilty"  against  them  all. 
The  judge  then  arraigned  them  separately  for 
sentence. 

When  Claudius  was  placed  at  the  bar  and  the 
question  was  put  to  him  whether  he  had  anything 
13 


104  CLAUDIUS, 

to  say  why  sentence  of  death  should  not  be 
passed  upon  him  he  arose,  and  thus  addressed  the 
court : 

"  May  it  please  your  honor !  I  know  that  nothing 
" 1  can  say  will  avert  the  doom  that  awaits  me  ; 
"  but  it  may  be  the  last  opportunity  I  shall  have  to 
"  excuse  my  past  life  before  the  people  !  I  was 
"born  among  these  mountains  and  from  youth 
"until  manhood  I  roamed  over  them,  free  and 
"  unshackled  as  the  air  I  breathed  !  No  word  of 
"  dishonor  was  ever  coupled  with  the  name  I  bore 
"  and  I  looked  forward  to  a  life  of  respectability 
"  and  usefulness ! 

"I  had  scarcely  attained  manhood  when  this 
"  war  began,  and,  as  everyone  knows,  I  espoused 
"the  cause  of  the  mother  country!  This 
"was  the  one  great  and  overwhelming  fault — 
"  the  greatest  sin  in  the  estimation  of  my  enemies, 
"which  I  could,  under  any  circumstances  have 
•'  committed  !  But  in  my  heart  I  thought  I  was 
"  doing  right,  and  may  your  honor  please,  I  have 
"  never  repented  that  choice  !  I  am  still  a  tory, 
"  and  your  honor  knows  what  that  word  signifies 
"  among  the  self-styled  patriots  of  our  land  ! 


THE   COWBOY   OF   RAMAPO   VALLEY.  195 

"  Inasmuch  as  I  espoused  that  cause  I  deemed 
"  it  my  duty  to  further  the  interests  of  my  King^ 
"in  every  way  I  could!  I  gathered  around 
"  me  a  loyal  band  of  fighters  for  the  King  and 
44  Parliament  and  did  their  enemies  all  the  damage 
"  in  my  power  ! 

"Though  I  never  was  enlisted  among  the 
"British  regulars  I  fought  my  battles  with  an 
"  honest  heart  and  thought  I  was  serving  my 
"country  as  well  as  they  ! 

" 1  admit  that  I  have  been  instrumental  in 
"  putting  men  to  death  ;  but  on  every  occasion  it 
"  was  in  open  fight  or  in  the  attempt  to  take  from 
"  rebels  to  their  King  provisions  needed  by  the 
41  adherents  to  our  cause  !  For  our  opinion's  sake 
"  both  me  and  mine  have  been  persecuted,  but  all 
"  through  these  cruel  years  I  have  still  been  stead- 
"  fast  to  my  first  love  ! 

"  For  this  great  crime  I  am  about  to  die.  But  yet 
**  if  I  could  live  these  years  again,  I  would  again  be 
"  guilty  of  the  same  offence  !  If  for  the  cause  of 
"  liberty  these  same  deeds  had  been  done  you 
"would  have  called  me  patriotic  and  praised 
4  4  these  l  deeds  of  blood '  as  you  now  term  them  and 


196  CLAUDIUS, 

*'  would  have  said  to  me,  'well  done,  thou  good 
"  and  faithful  servant ! ' 

"  But  whv  should  I  thus  stand  here  and  speak 
"  in  yain  ?  I  know  the  fiat  has  gone  forth  and  we 
**  must  pay  the  penalty  you  have  provided.  But  I 
"  have  given  you  some  wholesome  truths  and 
*'  thank  you  for  the  opportunity  !  I  do  not  whine 
"  and  whimper  at  my  fate  nor  with  driveling  tears 
*4  supplicate  for  mercy.  All  I  ask  your  honor  for, 
"  is  to  let  the  day  come  quickly  for  our  execution 
"  and  that  you  do  not  keep  us  in  suspense  !  I  am 
*'  ready  for  the  ordeal  and  shall  meet  it  like  a 
"  soldier  ! 

The  other  men  made  no  remarks  before  their 
sentence.  They  were  ordered  to  stand  up,  and  the 
judge  sentenced  all  to  be  hung  at  Goshen  Jail  on 
the  aoth  day  of  December,  1783. 

When  the  day  of  fate  came  round  Claudius  and 
his  companions  were  led  out,  and,  between  two 
ranks  of  the  veteran  scouts  of  Captain  Rem,  were 
marched  to  the  gallows,  which  had  been  built  a 
short  distance  from  the  jail  and  on  the  ground 
now  comprising  the  village  green  of  Goshen. 

Around  the  scaffold  in  hollow  square  stood  the 


THE    COWBOY    OF    RAMAPO   VALLEY.  197 

stern  and  war-worn  veterans  of  the  Revolutionary 
army.  The  local  officers  of  the  law  were  in 
attendance  preparing  the  prisoners  and  adjusting 
the  machinery  of  death. 

Claudius  and  his  brother  retained  their  com- 
posure to  the  last.  The  towering  form  of  the 
tory  chief  was  erect  and  his  mien  as  proud  as 
when  he  stood  at  the  head  of  his  bandit  fol- 
lowers. 

Just  before  the  signal  was  given  to  cut  the  cord, 
Claudius  bade  his  fellow  victims  farewell  and  in  a 
loud,  strong  voice,  announced  himself  ready.  The 
sheriff  stepped  back,  and,  at  his  signal,  the  execu- 
tioner severed  the  cord  that  held  the  fatal  trap 
door,  and  all  that  was  left  of  the  terrible  baud  of 
marauders  was  launched  into  eternity. 

Thus  was  the  prophecy  of  the  old  crone  of  Call 
Hollow  fulfilled,  and  in  the  death  of  Claudius  the 
country  was  rid  of  a  scourge,  but  who,  under  other 
circumstances,  might  have  been  one  of  the  great 
ones  of  the  land  and  an  honor  to  his  birth- 
place. 

The  bodies  of  the  cowboys  were  buried  in  the 
old  jail  yard  and  in  after  years,  when  a  new 


198  CLAUDIUS, 

court  house  was  being  built,  the  laborers  who 
were  digging  for  the  foundation  exhumed  four 
human  skeletons  which  were  recognized  by  some 
of  the  old  inhabitants  of  Goshen  as  those  of 
Claudius  and  his  three  men. 

The  bones  of  these  skeletons  were  not  imme- 
diately reinterred,  but  remained  above  ground  until 
the  court  house  walls  were  being  built,  when  one  of 
the  masons  took  the  skull  of  Claudius,  which  was 
known  from  its  greater  size,  and  built  it  into  the 
front  wall,  immediately  over  the  front  door  of  the 
court  house,  where,  in  all  probability,  it  remains 
to  this  day. 


CHAPTER   XXIII. 

After  the  proclamation  of  peace  and  the  dis- 
banding of  the  Revolutionary  army,  the  fortifi- 
cations at  Fort  Sidman  and  other  parts  of  Ramapo 
Pass  were  abandoned,  and  Captain  Rem.  and 
Barent  returned  to  their  respective  homes. 
Throughout  the  long  struggle  they  had  filled  their 
positions  with  honor  to  themselves  and  benefit  to 
their  country,  and  now,  when  they  retired  to  rural 
pursuits,  and  to  enjoy  the  blessings  for  which  they 
had  given  the  best  years  of  their  lives,  they  did  so 
among  a  people  who  loved  and  respected  them. 

As  years  wore  away,  and  the  people  began  to 
realize,  more  and  more,  the  great  blessings  to  the 
country  which  the  great  conflict  had  insured, 
every  actor  in  it  was  reverenced  and  loved  as  a 
benefactor  of  his  race. 

The  long  struggle,  as  is  always  the  case,  left  the 
199 


200  CLAUDIUS, 

country  heavily  in  debt  and  the  disbanding  of  the 
army  threw  a  large  number  of  men,  who  for  years 
had  known  no  other  employment  than  that  of  the 
soldier,  upon  the  communities  of  the  different 
States.  By  their  long  service,  many  of  them  had 
become  totally  unfitted  for  the  duties  and  functions 
of  civil  life  and  became  wanderers  and  vagrants 
over  the  land. 

The  morality,  also,  of  a  nation  suffers  in  conse- 
quence of  war,  especially  in  those  portions  where 
the  army  has  been  mainly  located — for  it  is  a  well 
known  fact  that  men  will  become  more  or  less  cor- 
rupt by  the  close  and  intimate  association  of 
great  numbers.  These  disadvantages  of  course 
were  not  peculiar  to  the  United  States,  neither 
was  she  excepted  from  this  general  rule  and  was 
bound  to  suffer  accordingly. 

We  will  now  return  to  the  rural  scenes  where 
our  story  began,  and,  with  the  reader,  find  out  in 
what  condition  the  war  had  left  them. 

The  desolate  appearance  caused  by  the  cowboy 
raid  on  the  premises  of  old  Martinus  Onderdonk 
had  disappeared,  and  in  the  place  where  the 
burned  buildings  had  stood,  new  and  substantial 


THE   COWBOY   OF   RAMAPO   VALLEY.  2OI 

barns  and  outbuildings  had  been  erected.  The 
old  man  and  his  wife,  on  account  of  the  weight  of 
years,  had  in  a  measure  retired  from  the  manage- 
ment of  the  farm,  and  Rem.  and  Dirck  and  their 
only  sister  Katharine,  had  taken  their  places  in 
the  active  work  of  conducting  the  place.  Black 
George  was  still  there,  and  as  chief  of  the  re- 
tainers, magnified  his  office,  and  felt  that  the 
whole  management  of  the  farm  rested  upon  his 
shoulders. 

Since  the  war  ended  Rem.  had  bent  all  his 
energy  toward  making  the  farm  yield  as  much  as 
possible  and  also  in  beautifying  its  surroundings, 
until  now,  two  years  after  hostilities  had  ceased,  it 
not  only  produced  abundantly  but  was  also  a  thing 
of  beauty  to  the  eye.  The  broad  fields  and  verdant 
meadows  stretched  away  almost  as  far  as  the  eye 
could  reach,  covered  with  waving  grain  and  luxu^ 
riant  grass. 

It  was  in  this  rich  and  fertile  valley,  also,  that 
the  farms  of  old  Rulof  Van  Houten  and  Bernard 
Demaray  were  situated  ;  and  the  three  together 
formed  what  everyone  admitted  them  to  be,  the 
garden  of  the  county.  Their  productiveness  was 


2O2  CLAUDIUS, 

proverbial  and  the  beauty  of  their  location  was  the 
admiration  of  all  the  country  round. 

Barent  Van  Houten,  as  might  have  been  ex- 
pected, was  an  almost  daily  visitor  at  the  Demaray 
homestead,  and  in  the  society  of  Mary,  passed 
much  of  his  time.  When  his  company  was  dis- 
banded he  was  accompanied  home  by  Lieutenant 
Bertholf,  his  warm  personal  friend  and  companion 
throughout  the  whole  conflict 

From  some  intimations  already  thrown  out,  the 
reader  will  surmise  what  attracted  him  thither, 
and  will  not  be  surprised  at  finding  him  spending 
many  pleasant  hours  at  the  side  of  Miss  Katharine 
and  in  the  enjoyment  of  the  hospitalities  of  the 
Onderdonk  home. 

At  the  earnest  solicitations  of  Barent  and  Rem, 
he  remained  in  the  neighborhood  several  weeks 
and  when  at  last,  he  left  for  his  home  beyond  the 
mountains,  he  carried  with  him  the  self  satisfying 
knowledge  that  he  was  the  accepted  lover  of  Kath- 
arine Onderdonk. 

For  Captain  Rem,  the  world  jogged  along  in  the 
old  groove.  From  the  time  he  reached  manhood 
he  had  been  a  soldier,  with  no  time  to  waste  on 


THE   COWBOY   OF   RAMAPO   VALLEY.  203 

love  or  women  ;  and  now,  when  the  tumultuous 
scenes  of  the  struggle  were  past  the  old  habits  still 
stuck  to  him, and  he  settled  .down  into  calm  and 
contented  bachelorhood. 

The  care  of  the  farm  occupied  a  portion  of  his 
time,  and  when  not  engaged  in  that,  he  gave  his 
attention  to  his  books  of  which  he  had  collected  a 
library  of  all  the  best  in  science  and  history  to  be 
procured  ;  and  among  them  he  found  his  greatest 
enjoyment. 

But  the  time  came  when  Captain  Rem's  fellow 
citizens,  recognizing  his  ability  and  knowledge  of 
the  world,  looked  to  him  as  the  one  above  all  in 
the  district  most  competent  to  represent  them  in 
the  councils  of  the  nation,  and  he  was  almost 
unanimously  elected  as  a  Member  of  Congress. 
He  performed  the  duties  imposed  upon  him  so 
well  that  he  was  returned  again  and  again,  until» 
as  the  years  passed,  it  became  a  burden  to  him 
and  he  voluntarily  retired  to  private  life.  When 
finally  old  age  came,  and  bent  him  with  its  weight 
of  years,  he  died  as  he  had  lived,  surrounded  by 
friends  and  respected  by  all  who  knew  him. 


204  CLAUDIUS, 

Captain  Barent  Van  Houten  was  instrumental 
in  organizing  the  new  State  and  became  promi- 
nent in  civil  life  as  he  had  been  in  the  troublous 
times  that  were  past.  It  was  to  him,  also,  that 
the  power  was  given  to  organize  the  militia  of  the 
county,  and  he  was  appointed  the  first  commander 
and  received  his  commission  as  Brigadier  General 
from  General  George  Clinton,  the  first  Governor 
of  the  State. 

When  peace  was  fairly  established  and  the 
machinery  of  civil  government  began  to.  run 
smoothly,  and  such  men  as  Captain  Barent  Van 
Houten  and  Rembrandt  Onderdonk  were  elevated 
to  places  of  power  and  honor,  then  the  people 
settled  down  with  the  assurance  that  every  man 
would  receive  the  protection  he  was  entitled  to  by 
law  and  for  the  first  time  came  over  them  that 
feeling  of  security  which  had  been  interrupted  for 
eight  long  years  of  turmoil  and  uncertainty. 

It  was  a  lovely  summer  morning  in  the  month  of 
June,  1785,  that  the  wedding  bells  rang  out  from 
the  old  Dutch  Church  at  Tappan,  and  from  the 
surrounding  country  the  people  were  congregating 


THE   COWBOY   OF   RAMAPO   VALLEY.  205 

to  witness  a  double  wedding.  The  two  couples 
who  were  about  to  enter  the  domain  of  Hymen, 
were  representatives  of  the  leading  families  of 
the  County  of  Orange  and  loved  and  respected 
by  all. 

Captain  Barent  Van  Houten,  and  the  lovely 
Mary  Demaray  ;  and  Lieutenant  Henry  Bertholf, 
and .  the  beautiful  and  accomplished  Katharine 
Onderdonk  were  to  be  married  that  morning  and 
the  whole  congregation  of  the  church  was  coming 
out  to  witness  the  ceremony. 

When  the  hour  arrived  the  good  old  Dominie 
Demaray — a  near  relative  of  Mary — came  down 
the  aisle,  the  bridal  party  arranged  themselves 
facing  the  preacher's  desk,  and  when,  after  an 
hour's  service — for  it  took  a  good  while  to  get 
married  in  those  days — the  white-haired  minister 
pronounced  them  wedded  the  vast  assemblage 
congratulated  them  and  wished  them  joy  and  all 
the  blessings  of  a  long  and  prosperous  life. 

Thus  were  they  wedded  in  the  midst  of  friends 
and  neighbors  and  through  their  long  and  useful 
lives  they  never  regretted  the  day  that  made  them 
one;  and  in  after  years  when  sons  and  daughters 


206 


CLAUDIUS, 


were  born  and  grew  up  around  them  they  blessed 
that  day  again  and  never  forgot  to  make  it  a  day 
of  rejoicing  while  they  lived. 


000030745     4 


